Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Shares Gap Up to $17.38

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.38, but opened at $17.74. Valhi shares last traded at $17.74, with a volume of 263 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Valhi in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Valhi Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.76. The stock has a market cap of $501.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 869.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Valhi (NYSE:VHI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Valhi had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.03%. The firm had revenue of $530.60 million for the quarter.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Valhi’s payout ratio is currently 1,600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Valhi

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Valhi stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,750 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.41% of Valhi worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

About Valhi

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.