The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Value Investor model based on the published strategy of Benjamin Graham. This deep value methodology screens for stocks that have low P/B and P/E ratios, along with low debt and solid long-term earnings growth.
KRONOS WORLDWIDE, INC. (KRO) is a small-cap value stock in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Benjamin Graham changed from 71% to 86% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Kronos Worldwide, Inc. is a global producer and marketer of value-added titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, a base industrial product used in a wide range of applications. The Company, along with its distributors and agents, sells and provides technical services for its products. TiO2 is a white inorganic pigment used in applications, such as coatings, plastics and paper, as well as many specialty products such as inks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The Company offers its customers a broad portfolio of products that include over 50 different TiO2 pigment grades under the KRONOS trademark, which provide a variety of performance properties to meet customers' specific requirements. The Company manufactures and sells iron-based chemicals, which are co-products and processed co-products of the sulfate and chloride process TiO2 pigment production. It also manufactures and sells other specialty chemicals, which are side-stream products from the production of TiO2.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| SECTOR: | PASS |
| SALES: | PASS |
| CURRENT RATIO: | PASS |
| LONG-TERM DEBT IN RELATION TO NET CURRENT ASSETS: | PASS |
| LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| P/E RATIO: | PASS |
| PRICE/BOOK RATIO: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of KRONOS WORLDWIDE, INC.
About Benjamin Graham: The late Benjamin Graham may be the oldest of the gurus we follow, but his impact on the investing world has lasted for decades after his death in 1976. Known as both the "Father of Value Investing" and the founder of the entire field of security analysis, Graham mentored several of history's greatest investors -- including Warren Buffett -- and inspired a slew of others, including John Templeton, Mario Gabelli, and another of Validea's gurus, John Neff. Graham built his fortune and reputation after living through some extremely difficult times, including both the Great Depression and his own family's financial woes following his father's death when Benjamin was a young man. His investment firm posted per annum returns of about 20 percent from 1936 to 1956, far outpacing the 12.2 percent average return for the market during that time.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
