Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest declined 14.1% in April to 52,096 shares (about 0.2% of the float), with a short-interest ratio of 6.5 days based on average daily volume.
• The stock carries a consensus "Sell" rating from analysts with an average price target of $12.00, though Wall Street Zen recently moved its rating to "Hold."
• Valhi reported a sharp earnings miss, posting ($1.86) EPS for the quarter versus consensus of $0.86, and recorded negative net margin and return on equity despite $494.5 million in revenue.

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 52,096 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the March 31st total of 60,617 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,053 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VHI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valhi from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Valhi in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Sell" and an average target price of $12.00.

Valhi Price Performance

VHI stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 970 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,678. The stock has a market cap of $421.10 million, a PE ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Valhi has a fifty-two week low of $11.44 and a fifty-two week high of $20.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $14.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.73.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported ($1.86) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($2.72). The business had revenue of $494.50 million during the quarter. Valhi had a negative net margin of 2.77% and a negative return on equity of 3.20%.

Valhi Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Valhi's dividend payout ratio is presently -15.84%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Valhi by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valhi by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valhi in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Valhi by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,202 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Valhi by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Valhi Company Profile

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.

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