Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: KRO) benefited from significant growth in short interest rates during the month of December. As of December 15, there was short interest totaling 977,200 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the total of 794,100 shares as of November 30. Based on an average daily volume of 115,400 shares, the short-term interest rate is currently 8.5 days. About 4.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold KRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide shares by 40.0% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company valued at $ 36,000 after acquiring 821 additional shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide shares by 491.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 3,764 shares of the specialty chemicals company valued at $ 45,000 after acquiring an additional 3,128 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Kronos Worldwide shares by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 5,811 shares of the specialty chemicals company valued at $ 72,000 after acquiring 2,414 additional shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY purchased a new position in Kronos Worldwide shares during the 3rd quarter valued at $ 75,000. Finally, KBC Groupe NV acquired a new position in Kronos Worldwide shares during the 3rd quarter for a value of $ 106,000. 14.94% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several research companies have recently published reports on KRO. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Kronos Worldwide shares from a “hold” rating to a “strong buy” rating and set a target price of $ 17.00 for the company in a report released on Wednesday, November 24. TheStreet downgraded Kronos Worldwide’s shares from a “c +” rating to a “b” rating in a research report released on Friday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its price target on Kronos Worldwide shares from $ 15.00 to $ 16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 22.

KRO shares traded up $ 0.14 on Friday, reaching $ 15.32. 210,940 shares of the stock were traded for an average volume of 194,588. The company has a leverage ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.06 and a current ratio of 4.69. Kronos Worldwide has a one-year minimum of $ 12.06 and a one-year maximum of $ 18.41. The company has a market cap of $ 1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $ 14.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $ 13.80.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE: KRO) last released its results on Thursday, November 4. The specialty chemicals company reported EPS of $ 0.31 for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $ 0.24 by $ 0.07. Kronos Worldwide had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company posted revenue of $ 499.80 million in the quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $ 502.15 million. On average, stock analysts expect Kronos Worldwide to post earnings per share of 0.97 for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 16. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 2 received a dividend of $ 0.18. This represents a dividend of $ 0.72 on an annualized basis and a return of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday December 1. Kronos Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.14%.

Kronos Company Profile Worldwide

Kronos Worldwide, Inc is engaged in the production and marketing of value added titanium dioxide pigments. Its products are used for coatings and inks; plastics; paper and laminated paper; synthetic fibers; health, nutrition and beauty; and ceramic, glass and welding rod applications. The company also offers assistance in pigment selection, consultation, on-site training, laboratory scale equipment testing and weather resistance testing technical services.

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