Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valhi (NYSE:VHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Separately, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Valhi from $11.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Valhi Stock Performance

NYSE:VHI opened at $27.32 on Monday. Valhi has a 1-year low of $12.12 and a 1-year high of $41.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.90 and a 200 day moving average of $24.18. The company has a market capitalization of $773.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.29.

Valhi Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.17%. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.26%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VHI. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valhi in the third quarter worth $1,409,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Valhi by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 138,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after acquiring an additional 12,720 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valhi in the third quarter valued at about $408,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Valhi during the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valhi by 28.4% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 20,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,620 shares during the period. 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.