Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 851,900 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the June 30th total of 752,300 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 235,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Kronos Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,801,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,851,000 after purchasing an additional 66,081 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,211,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,097,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth $1,799,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth $960,000. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 64,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

Kronos Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE KRO remained flat at $12.05 during midday trading on Monday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 316,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,857. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.13 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.42. Kronos Worldwide has a 1-year low of $6.16 and a 1-year high of $14.50.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $478.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.64 million. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 1.50%. On average, research analysts predict that Kronos Worldwide will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Kronos Worldwide Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently -86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Kronos Worldwide from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Kronos Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kronos Worldwide from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Kronos Worldwide from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.67.

About Kronos Worldwide

Kronos Worldwide, Inc produces and markets titanium dioxide pigments (TiO2) in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company produces TiO2 in two crystalline forms, rutile and anatase to impart whiteness, brightness, opacity, and durability for various products, including paints, coatings, plastics, paper, fibers, and ceramics, as well as for various specialty products, such as inks, foods, and cosmetics.