Head-To-Head Survey: Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) & Avient (NYSE:AVNT)

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Dividends

Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kronos Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Avient pays out 89.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kronos Worldwide pays out -55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avient has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Kronos Worldwide is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Avient and Kronos Worldwide”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.25 billion	0.88	$169.50 million	$1.23	25.48
Kronos Worldwide	$1.86 billion	0.28	$86.20 million	($0.36)	-12.75

Avient has higher revenue and earnings than Kronos Worldwide. Kronos Worldwide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avient, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Avient has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kronos Worldwide has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Avient and Kronos Worldwide, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	5	4	1	2.60
Kronos Worldwide	4	0	0	0	1.00

Avient presently has a consensus target price of $42.50, suggesting a potential upside of 35.59%. Kronos Worldwide has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.72%. Given Avient’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Avient is more favorable than Kronos Worldwide.

Profitability

This table compares Avient and Kronos Worldwide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avient	3.49%	10.75%	4.25%
Kronos Worldwide	-2.22%	-3.09%	-1.33%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Avient beats Kronos Worldwide on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.

About Kronos Worldwide

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. produces and markets titanium dioxide pigments (TiO2) in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company produces TiO2 in two crystalline forms, rutile and anatase to impart whiteness, brightness, opacity, and durability for various products, including paints, coatings, plastics, paper, fibers, and ceramics, as well as for various specialty products, such as inks, foods, and cosmetics. It also produces ilmenite, a raw material used directly as a feedstock by sulfate-process TiO2 plants; iron-based chemicals, which are used as treatment and conditioning agents for industrial effluents and municipal wastewater, as well as in the manufacture of iron pigments, cement, and agricultural products; specialty chemicals for use in the formulation of pearlescent pigments, and production of electroceramic capacitors for cell phones and other electronic devices, as well as for use in natural gas pipe, and other specialty applications. In addition, the company provides technical services for its products. It sells its products under the KRONOS brand through agents and distributors to paint, plastics, decorative laminate, and paper manufacturers. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Kronos Worldwide, Inc. is a subsidiary of Valhi, Inc.