CompX International Inc. Class A (CIX)

NL currently garners no analyst coverage, which is one of the reasons that you've likely never heard of the company.

Just 27 names make the cut, down from 48 last year, and 36 from my late September preview.

The intertwined companies made healthy gains at the end of the week, though the reason for them wasn't immediately evident.

Languishing NL Industries and Ascena Retail Group saw their shares spurt higher on Thursday on positive events.

One thing is certain: Triple-nets are not a common investment hunting ground, but some may be the recipe for the next ETF.

Announcement of a settlement of a lead paint legal tussle that had gone on for nearly two decades gave NL shares a boost Thursday.

Especially painful are situations where a name begins to drop almost immediately after taking a position.

The value of its big holdings in Kronos Worldwide, CompX International and Valhi Inc. greatly exceed its own market cap.

I'm trying to get comfortable with this potential 'sum of the parts' idea.

Valhi fell 28% on Wednesday, but was 10% back up Thursday morning.

We're also starting to hear negative earnings pre-announcements from companies such as Cree and National Instrument.