Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) Short Interest Update

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 963,700 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the September 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 195,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kronos Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KRO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 136.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 360,677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,526,000 after purchasing an additional 208,256 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,521,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,937,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,860,000 after purchasing an additional 103,988 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kronos Worldwide by 99.9% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 162,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 81,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $783,000. 15.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays increased their target price on Kronos Worldwide from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kronos Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:KRO traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.58. The company had a trading volume of 702 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,154.00 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Kronos Worldwide has a 1 year low of $6.95 and a 1 year high of $14.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.09.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $500.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.19 million. Kronos Worldwide had a return on equity of 0.24% and a net margin of 0.11%. Equities analysts forecast that Kronos Worldwide will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kronos Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,000.00%.

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.