Barclays Lowers Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Price Target to $7.00

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Barclays from $10.00 to $7.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KRO. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:KRO opened at $6.50 on Wednesday. Kronos Worldwide has a twelve month low of $6.19 and a twelve month high of $14.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.79.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $489.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.56 million. Kronos Worldwide had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 11.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin B. Kramer purchased 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.43 per share, for a total transaction of $104,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,447.80. This represents a 187.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KRO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,165,098 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,859,000 after purchasing an additional 109,674 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,217,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,625,000 after acquiring an additional 13,869 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 11.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,575,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 163,790 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 734,230 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 31,830 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 489,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

Kronos Worldwide Company Profile

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.