Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest dropped by 17% in March to 1,750,777 shares (about 1.5% of the float), with a days-to-cover ratio of 4.0 based on average daily volume.
• The stock carries an average rating of Strong Sell with a consensus target of $6.00 and recent downgrades from Zacks and Weiss Ratings.
• Kronos missed on EPS—reporting ($0.72) vs. ($0.26) expected—while revenue of $418.3M topped estimates; the company shows negative margins and ROE but pays a $0.05 quarterly dividend (3.2% yield).

Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,750,777 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 2,108,438 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 438,327 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Kronos Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KRO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Kronos Worldwide during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Kronos Worldwide during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Jain Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kronos Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Kronos Worldwide has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE KRO traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Kronos Worldwide has a 1 year low of $4.08 and a 1 year high of $7.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $6.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $729.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.61 and a beta of 1.00.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.46). Kronos Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 11.72% and a negative net margin of 5.96%.The company had revenue of $418.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.26 million.

Kronos Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Kronos Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.83%.

Kronos Worldwide Company Profile

Kronos Worldwide, Inc is a leading global producer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) 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 TiO₂ 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.

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