Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) Hits New 12-Month High at $13.10

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.10 and last traded at $13.00, with a volume of 43771 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kronos Worldwide from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kronos Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Kronos Worldwide Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.36 and its 200 day moving average is $9.68. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -28.74 and a beta of 1.21.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.02. Kronos Worldwide had a negative net margin of 2.95% and a negative return on equity of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $400.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $404.94 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Kronos Worldwide, Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. Kronos Worldwide’s payout ratio is -176.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,801,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,851,000 after buying an additional 66,081 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 4.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,274,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,878,000 after buying an additional 52,898 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 0.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,106,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,579,000 after buying an additional 9,924 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide in the first quarter valued at about $960,000. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kronos Worldwide by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 64,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.11% of the company’s stock.

About Kronos Worldwide

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.