3 Noteworthy Trades as Insider Buying Heats Up Amid Record Broader Market Sell-Off

Kronos Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KRO) had one of its most influential insiders acquire shares last week. Chairman Steven L. Watson bought exactly 50,000 shares last week at prices that ranged from $4.79 per share to $5.00 per share. After the recent purchase, the Chairman holds an ownership stake of 541,652 shares. Kronos produces and markets value-added titanium dioxide pigments (TiO₂), which are used for numerous manufacturing applications such as paints, plastics, paper and other industrial and specialty products. Kronos Worldwide reported a net loss of $153.2 million for the first nine months of 2015, compared to net income of $79.3 million reported for the same period a year ago.

The substantial decrease in the company’s bottom-line results was partially attributable to lower income from operations, specific charges related to workforce reductions, and lower average selling prices. The company’s average selling prices have suffered in the past several quarters due to increased competition. Similarly, its average selling prices also suffered as a result of a higher percentage of its sales being to lower-priced export markets. A mere six hedge funds had the company’s stock in their portfolios at the end of the third quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC owned 161,061 shares of Kronos Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:KRO) as of the end of the third quarter, and represented the largest equity holder of the company within our database at that time.