Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 590,600 shares, an increase of 18.1% from the December 15th total of 499,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 173,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 83.3% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide during the third quarter worth $67,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in Kronos Worldwide by 1,086.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 9,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 8,791 shares during the period. Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide during the third quarter worth $124,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Kronos Worldwide during the second quarter valued at $131,000. 15.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Kronos Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of KRO stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $9.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 106,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,264. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.19. Kronos Worldwide has a 1 year low of $8.26 and a 1 year high of $14.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.16.

Kronos Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Kronos Worldwide’s payout ratio is 24.69%.

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.