Raymond James & Associates Cuts Stock Position in NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 307,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 33,177 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.63% of NL Industries worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NL. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 88.2% during the first quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 63.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 3,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of NL Industries by 128.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in NL Industries by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in NL Industries by 57.8% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 4,724 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of NL Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

NL Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NL opened at $7.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -193.45 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.59. NL Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.46 and a 12 month high of $8.60.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $43.20 million for the quarter. NL Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 1.43%.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -799.80%.

About NL Industries

NL Industries, Inc, through its subsidiary, CompX International Inc, operates in the component products industry in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms, including disc tumbler locks; pin tumbler locking mechanisms under KeSet, System 64, TuBar, and Turbine brands; and electronic locks under CompX eLock and StealthLock brands for use in various applications, such as mailboxes, ignition systems, file cabinets, desk drawers, tool storage cabinets, high security medical cabinetry, integrated inventory and access control secured narcotics boxes, electronic circuit panels, storage compartments, gas station security, vending and cash containment machines.