Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Trading 5.6% Higher – What’s Next?

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)’s share price shot up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.01 and last traded at $10.01. 185,802 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 170,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KRO. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.13.

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

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 valued at $36,860,000 after purchasing an additional 103,988 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 1.3% during 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 575,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 314,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 88,277 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,824,000. 15.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.