Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

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

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of KRO opened at $11.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -26.84 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.61 and a 200-day moving average of $9.30. Kronos Worldwide has a one year low of $6.16 and a one year high of $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 5.73% and a negative net margin of 2.95%. The firm had revenue of $400.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $404.94 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kronos Worldwide will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently -176.74%.

Institutional Trading of Kronos Worldwide

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 3.2% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 57,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the 1st quarter valued at $134,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the 1st quarter valued at $960,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,801,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,851,000 after purchasing an additional 66,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. Institutional investors own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

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.