NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.05 and traded as high as $6.35. NL Industries shares last traded at $6.2980, with a volume of 73,520 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NL Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NL Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

NL Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $307.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 0.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.05.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.14). NL Industries had a negative return on equity of 8.74% and a negative net margin of 21.56%.The company had revenue of $40.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.57 million.

NL Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NL. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in NL Industries by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 162,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 22,456 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in NL Industries by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,089,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,950 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in NL Industries by 48.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 64,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 21,184 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in NL Industries in the first quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NL Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

About NL Industries

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.