Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.89 and traded as high as $8.27. Kronos Worldwide shares last traded at $8.1150, with a volume of 684,034 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KRO shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kronos Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.50.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Up 8.8%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.92. The company has a market cap of $934.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $541.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.40 million. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 12.28% and a negative net margin of 5.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kronos Worldwide Inc will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Kronos Worldwide’s payout ratio is -60.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide during the second quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 439.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 58,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 48,037 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 126.0% in the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 59,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 33,173 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the second quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth $2,742,000. Institutional investors own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

About Kronos Worldwide

Kronos Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:KRO) is a global producer and marketer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments. Its products are sold primarily under the KRONOS brand and are used to provide whiteness, opacity, brightness and protection in paints and coatings, plastics, paper and other manufactured products.

The company also produces certain specialty chemicals, including iron-based products and related inorganic chemicals. Kronos serves industrial customers through manufacturing and distribution operations in North America and Europe, with products marketed to customers in markets around the world.

Kronos Worldwide traces its roots to the early development of commercial titanium dioxide production and is part of the Valhi, Inc corporate family.