Here's Why Kronos (KRO) Should Be In Your Portfolio Now

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has been performing well of late. The company has a market capitalization of roughly $3.1 billion. The stock has soared 33.3% over the past six months, outperforming the industry’s 17.3% growth. The company has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5%. With strong fundamentals and solid long-term growth opportunities, this stock can be a solid bet now.

Strong Operational Performance

Kronos Worldwide witnessed a significant rise in profits in the third quarter on the back of higher average selling prices and increased sales and production volumes.

Kronos Worldwide is witnessing strong demand for titanium dioxide products across most segments. The company is also gaining from higher pricing and it saw average selling prices increase 21% during the first nine months of 2017.

Upbeat Outlook

Kronos Worldwide expects production volumes to be higher on a year-over-year basis in 2017 due to the implementation of certain productivity-enhancing improvement projects at some facilities. Also, the company anticipates increased sales volume for 2017 compared with a year ago. These improvements, along with an expected increase in average selling prices will lead to higher income from operations in 2017.

Impressive Earnings Surprise History

Kronos Worldwide has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 58.8%.

Estimate Revisions

Estimates for the fourth-quarter and full year 2017 for Kronos Worldwide have been increasing of late. Over the past 60 days, the company has witnessed a 6.5% increase in fourth-quarter estimates to 49 cents per share. Meanwhile, the estimate for 2017 also increased 1.2% to $1.63 per share during the same period.

Solid Zacks Rank & VGM Score

Kronos Worldwide currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential. The score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allow investors to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) , Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) and IAMGOLD Corporation (TO:IAG) , each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1.

Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8%. Its shares have soared 70.3% over a year.

Daqo New Energy has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 7%. Its shares have rallied a whopping 184.7% over a year.

Iamgold Corp has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 3%. Its shares have gained 29.6% in the last year.

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