Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Separately, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:KRO opened at $9.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.13. Kronos Worldwide has a 1-year low of $8.26 and a 1-year high of $14.50.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $484.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $588.59 million. Kronos Worldwide had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 11.74%.

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Kronos Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 24.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KRO. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 187,944 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,359,000 after buying an additional 38,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,937,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,860,000 after buying an additional 103,988 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 660,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,289,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $175,000. 15.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kronos Worldwide Company Profile

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.