Valhi (NYSE:VHI) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $26.33, but opened at $23.29. Valhi shares last traded at $24.20, with a volume of 40,795 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VHI. StockNews.com lowered Valhi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valhi from $11.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Valhi Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.19. The company has a market capitalization of $668.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Valhi Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Valhi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VHI. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $359,000 after buying an additional 4,620 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in Valhi in the third quarter worth $217,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Valhi in the third quarter valued at $244,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valhi during the third quarter valued at about $408,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Valhi by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 138,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 12,720 shares in the last quarter. 3.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.