Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 29,575 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 99% from the previous session’s volume of 14,848 shares.The stock last traded at $35.53 and had previously closed at $41.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VHI has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Valhi from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valhi from $11.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Valhi Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $869.66 million, a P/E ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.41. Valhi had a net margin of 4.29% and a return on equity of 7.04%. The company had revenue of $559.70 million during the quarter.

Valhi Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.26%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Valhi by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 117,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after buying an additional 8,750 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valhi by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 20,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,620 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Valhi in the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Valhi during the third quarter valued at $1,409,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Valhi during the 3rd quarter valued at about $408,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Valhi Company Profile

Valhi, Inc engages in the chemicals, component products, and real estate management and development businesses in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company’s Chemicals segment produces and markets titanium dioxide pigments (TiO2), which are white inorganic pigments used in various applications by paint, plastics, decorative laminate, and paper manufacturers.