Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Shares Up 7.3% – Here’s Why

Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO) shares rose 7.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.30 and last traded at $8.43. 48,691 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 348,310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Kronos Worldwide Trading Down 2.6%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.47. The company has a market cap of $969.59 million, a P/E ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.30.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 12.28% and a negative net margin of 5.63%.The business had revenue of $558.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $484.51 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kronos Worldwide Inc will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Kronos Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently -21.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KRO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Kronos Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,886,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the second quarter worth about $5,030,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Kronos Worldwide by 16.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,948,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,921,000 after buying an additional 426,662 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the second quarter worth approximately $1,336,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 55.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 472,305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,711,000 after buying an additional 169,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

Kronos Worldwide Company Profile

Kronos Worldwide, Inc is a leading global producer of titanium dioxide (TiO?) pigments, a white pigment widely used in paints, coatings, plastics, paper, and many other industrial and consumer applications. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company markets its products under the “Kronos” brand and has built a reputation for high-quality pigment performance, technical support, and reliable supply. Kronos serves a diverse customer base across coatings manufacturers, plastic compounders, and paper producers, delivering solutions tailored to enhance opacity, color strength, and durability.

In addition to its core TiO? offerings, Kronos produces and markets iron oxide pigments and zircon-based specialty chemicals, expanding its portfolio to meet the needs of markets such as construction, ceramics, and glass.