Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Stock Passes Below 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $13.95 and traded as low as $13.44. Valhi shares last traded at $13.57, with a volume of 6,084 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VHI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valhi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Valhi in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Valhi Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.03 million, a PE ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.95.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.70). Valhi had a negative net margin of 3.45% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. The business had revenue of $560.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.20 million.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.60%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Valhi by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valhi by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Valhi by 133.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valhi during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Valhi by 79.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

About Valhi

Valhi, Inc is a diversified holding company incorporated in Delaware in 1987 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its three wholly owned subsidiaries—Kronos Worldwide, CompX International and NL Industries—Valhi participates in the manufacture and distribution of chemical and security products for industrial, commercial and consumer markets.

Kronos Worldwide is a leading independent producer of titanium dioxide pigment, a white powder that enhances brightness and opacity in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other applications.