Wall Street Zen Upgrades Valhi (NYSE:VHI) to “Sell”

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Valhi in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $12.00.

Valhi Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:VHI opened at $14.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $12.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.88. Valhi has a 1 year low of $11.44 and a 1 year high of $25.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $503.50 million during the quarter. Valhi had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 0.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valhi

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VHI. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Valhi by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after buying an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valhi by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Valhi in the 1st quarter worth $289,000. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valhi during the 3rd quarter worth $228,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Valhi by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

About Valhi

Valhi, Inc is a diversified holding company incorporated in Delaware in 1987 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its three wholly owned subsidiaries—Kronos Worldwide, CompX International and NL Industries—Valhi participates in the manufacture and distribution of chemical and security products for industrial, commercial and consumer markets.

Kronos Worldwide is a leading independent producer of titanium dioxide pigment, a white powder that enhances brightness and opacity in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other applications.