Insider Buying: NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Director Buys 6,500 Shares of Stock

NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) Director Kevin B. Kramer acquired 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.59 per share, with a total value of $42,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,616.50. The trade was a 228.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

NL Industries Price Performance

Shares of NL opened at $7.80 on Friday. NL Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.20 and a 1 year high of $9.42. The company has a market capitalization of $380.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.36 and a 200-day moving average of $7.51.

NL Industries (NYSE:NL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.13. NL Industries had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $38.40 million during the quarter.

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. This is a boost from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. NL Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NL Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in NL Industries by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NL Industries by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 231,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in NL Industries by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,006,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,594,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in NL Industries by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NL Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded NL Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

NL Industries Company Profile

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.