Aristides Capital LLC Purchases 21,313 Shares of NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL)

Aristides Capital LLC boosted its position in NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NL) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 426,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,313 shares during the quarter. NL Industries accounts for 0.7% of Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC owned 0.87% of NL Industries worth $3,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NL. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in NL Industries by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 185,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in NL Industries by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 56,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 3,753 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in NL Industries by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 162,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 6,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of NL Industries by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 7,548 shares during the last quarter. 10.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NL Industries

In other NL Industries news, Director Kevin B. Kramer acquired 6,500 shares of NL Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 9,350 shares in the company, valued at $61,616.50. This trade represents a 228.07 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

NL Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NL opened at $7.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.56. NL Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.20 and a 52 week high of $9.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.39 and a 200-day moving average of $7.65.

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

NL Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. This is a positive change from NL Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. NL Industries’s payout ratio is presently 26.09%.

NL Industries 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.