Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Kronos Worldwide from “strong buy” to “buy.” Other analyst views are mixed, and MarketBeat reports an average rating of “Reduce” with an $8.50 price target.
• Kronos reported quarterly EPS of $0.30, beating the $0.19 consensus estimate, and revenue of $541.1 million, slightly above expectations.
• Shares opened at $7.43, within a 12-month range of $4.08 to $9.17; institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.11% of the stock.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KRO. Zacks Research downgraded Kronos Worldwide from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kronos Worldwide from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.50.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of KRO opened at $7.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $855.19 million, a PE ratio of -22.51 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.90. Kronos Worldwide has a 12-month low of $4.08 and a 12-month high of $9.17.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.11. Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 12.28% and a negative net margin of 5.63%. The business had revenue of $541.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.40 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kronos Worldwide will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the second quarter worth about $10,886,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 804,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 35,224 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,742,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the second quarter worth about $1,336,000. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM bought a new stake in Kronos Worldwide during the second quarter valued at $964,000. 15.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kronos Worldwide Company Profile

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.

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