Oppenheimer Maintains Outperform on Kronos Worldwide After Strong 4Q

Oppenheimer has published a research report on Kronos Worldwide

commenting on the company's 4Q earnings. In the report, Oppenheimer writes, "KRO traded up as much as 7% earlier today on better than expected 4Q results and 2012 guidance, but gave up some gains as the market corrected. We would be opportunistic on this dip. KRO reported 4Q11 EPS of $0.74 (incl. $0.03 charge for German earnings repatriation), $0.36 above estimate, and up 122.6% year-over-year. More importantly, KRO eased concerns about TiO2 fundamentals by attributing 4Q volumes to temporary destocking and seasonality (down 19% is clearly an aberration), acknowledging ore inflation, but expressing confidence in passing it through prices, and targeting profits up yoy vs. expectation of down." Oppenheimer maintains its Outperform rating and $36 price target on Kronos, which is currently trading down $0.34 from yesterday's $23.68 closing price.