Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO logged a profit of $24 million or 21 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2018, down around 49% from $47.4 million or 41 cents in the year-ago quarter. Earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents.
Net sales went down around 23% year over year to $349.4 million due to lower sales volumes and reduced average titanium dioxide (TiO2) selling prices. The figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $378 million.
Shares of Kronos Worldwide have lost 37.1% over a year, underperforming the industry’s 19% decline.
Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. KL, Israel Chemicals Ltd. ICL and Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV.
Kirkland Lake Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 47.1% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Its shares have shot up around 122% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Israel Chemicals has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.8% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s shares have gained around 15% over the past year.
Franco-Nevada has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.3% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have gained roughly 11% in the past year.