Analyzing Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) and Enlightify (NYSE:ENFY)

Enlightify (NYSE:ENFY) and Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Enlightify and Kronos Worldwide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enlightify	-22.98%	-18.78%	-11.03%
Kronos Worldwide	-2.22%	-3.09%	-1.33%

Risk and Volatility

Enlightify has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kronos Worldwide has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Enlightify shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Enlightify shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Enlightify and Kronos Worldwide, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enlightify	1	0	0	0	1.00
Kronos Worldwide	4	0	0	0	1.00

Kronos Worldwide has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.45%. Given Kronos Worldwide’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kronos Worldwide is more favorable than Enlightify.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Enlightify and Kronos Worldwide”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enlightify	$79.21 million	0.01	-$28.41 million	($0.86)	-0.05
Kronos Worldwide	$1.89 billion	0.33	$86.20 million	($0.36)	-15.23

Kronos Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Enlightify. Kronos Worldwide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enlightify, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kronos Worldwide beats Enlightify on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enlightify

Enlightify, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, and Yuxing. The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment refers to the compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi’an, China.

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. It also produces ilmenite, a raw material used directly as a feedstock by sulfate-process TiO2 plants; iron-based chemicals, which are used as treatment and conditioning agents for industrial effluents and municipal wastewater, as well as in the manufacture of iron pigments, cement, and agricultural products; specialty chemicals for use in the formulation of pearlescent pigments, and production of electroceramic capacitors for cell phones and other electronic devices, as well as for use in natural gas pipe, and other specialty applications. In addition, the company provides technical services for its products. It sells its products under the KRONOS brand through agents and distributors to paint, plastics, decorative laminate, and paper manufacturers. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Kronos Worldwide, Inc. is a subsidiary of Valhi, Inc.