Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. KRO shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 5 hedge funds in our database with KRO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are tons of indicators investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the key action encompassing Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO).
What have hedge funds been doing with Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 4 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -20% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Tontine Asset Management, managed by Jeffrey Gendell, holds the most valuable position in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO). Tontine Asset Management has a $2.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Tontine Asset Management’s heels is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $1.1 million call position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Seeing as Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has faced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely heading into Q2. Interestingly, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management sold off the biggest investment of the 450+ funds we watch, worth an estimated $3 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also sold off its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into Q2.
Insider trading activity in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has seen 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO). These stocks are Cabot Corp (NYSE:CBT), Chemtura Corp (NYSE:CHMT), Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN), HB Fuller Co (NYSE:FUL), and Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT). All of these stocks are in the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps are similar to KRO’s market cap.
