StockNews.com Lowers Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on KRO. TheStreet raised shares of Kronos Worldwide from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Kronos Worldwide Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Kronos Worldwide stock opened at $11.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 3.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average of $9.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.84 and a beta of 1.21. Kronos Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $6.16 and a fifty-two week high of $12.48.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $400.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $404.94 million. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 5.73% and a negative net margin of 2.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kronos Worldwide will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kronos Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently -176.74%.

Institutional Trading of Kronos Worldwide

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Kronos Worldwide by 111.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 28,117 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 21,025 shares during the last quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kronos Worldwide by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 64,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 24.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 6,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,106,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,579,000 after buying an additional 9,924 shares during the period. 15.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.