NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Stock Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average After Earnings Miss

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL)’s share price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $5.86 and traded as low as $5.86. NL Industries shares last traded at $6.02, with a volume of 34,494 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.14). NL Industries had a negative net margin of 23.88% and a negative return on equity of 9.43%. The business had revenue of $40.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.02 million.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is a positive change from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -51.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NL Industries to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NL Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in NL Industries by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 3,239 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in NL Industries by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 93,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 38,640 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in NL Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $126,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in NL Industries by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 276,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 24,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in NL Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 168,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 6,032 shares during the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NL Industries Trading Up 2.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.89 and its 200 day moving average is $5.86. The company has a market capitalization of $294.14 million, a P/E ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 0.19.

NL Industries Company Profile

NL Industries, Inc is a U.S.-based industrial minerals company whose primary focus is the mining, upgrading and marketing of titanium feedstocks. The company’s products include synthetic rutile and chloride slag, which serve as key raw materials for producers of titanium dioxide pigment. These pigments are widely used as whitening and opacifying agents in coatings, plastics, paper and specialty applications.

NL Industries serves a global customer base, supplying feedstocks under long-term agreements and through spot transactions.