Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. KRO shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with KRO holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of gauges market participants can use to watch publicly traded companies. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outclass the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are many reasons for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the latest action encompassing Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO).
What have hedge funds been doing with Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 4 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -43% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management had the biggest position in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO), worth close to $3 million, comprising 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On Gotham Asset Management’s heels is Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $1.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Due to the fact that Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, we can see that there is a sect of funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Interestingly, Jonathan Auerbach’s Hound Partners said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at close to $7.7 million in stock., and Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $1.1 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out 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 resemble KRO’s market cap.
