Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Stock Price Up 6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kronos Worldwide shares jumped about 6% to roughly $5.93 on Tuesday, but analyst sentiment remains negative with a consensus Strong Sell rating and a $6.00 average target (multiple sell ratings from Goldman Sachs, Weiss, and Zacks).
• The company reported EPS of ($0.72) for the quarter—missing estimates by $0.46—while revenue of $418.3M beat expectations; Kronos shows a negative net margin (~-5.96%), negative ROE (~-11.7%) and a negative P/E.
• Kronos pays a quarterly dividend of $0.05 (annualized yield ~3.3%) despite the weak profitability, has a market cap around $697M, and institutional investors own about 15% of the stock.

Kronos Worldwide Inc (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.97 and last traded at $5.9250. 69,259 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 338,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KRO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Kronos Worldwide in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Kronos Worldwide from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Kronos Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kronos Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Up 8.4%

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.30. The stock has a market cap of $697.11 million, a P/E ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 2.70.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $418.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.26 million. Kronos Worldwide had a negative net margin of 5.96% and a negative return on equity of 11.72%.

Kronos Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Kronos Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently -20.83%.

Institutional Trading of Kronos Worldwide

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,521,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,630,000 after buying an additional 945,556 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 56.8% in the second quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 197,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 71,493 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 34,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Kronos Worldwide by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,990 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.11% of the company's stock.

About Kronos Worldwide

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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