Three Companies with Noteworthy Insider Buying Amid Weak Insider Trading Activity

Kronos Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has witnessed increased insider trading activity on the buy side in the past several months, whereas insider selling has been nonexistent for several years. Klemens T. Schluter, Chief Operating Officer of Global Operations, bought 5,000 shares last Tuesday at a price of $5.74 per share, boosting his overall holding to 21,378 shares.

Kronos Worldwide is a producer and seller of value-added titanium dioxide pigments, or TiO₂, used in a variety of manufacturing applications such as plastics, paints, paper, and other products. According to fresh estimates, Kronos was the largest producer of TiO₂ in Europe last year, with a market share of 18%. The company also had a 15% share of North American TiO₂ sales volumes in 2015. The company’s net sales declined $303.1 million or 18% year-on-year in 2015 to $1.35 billion. The decrease was mainly driven by a decrease in TiO₂ prices due to competitive pressures. Kronos Worldwide’s average selling prices at the end of 2015 were 17% lower than at the end of the previous year. Moreover, the company’s average selling prices were impacted by a higher share of sales generated in lower-priced export markets. Shares of Kronos have lost 58% in the past 52 weeks. It should be noted that Kronos’ management observed higher demand for its products in certain primary markets in late 2015, so the company appears to be in a bottoming out phase at this point in time given the highly-anticipated price increases for TiO₂. The number of money managers from our system with stakes in the company increased to eight from six during the December quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC owns nearly 117,000 shares of Kronos Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KRO) as of December 31.

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