Analyzing Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) and Corteva (NYSE:CTVA)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Kronos Worldwide and Corteva, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kronos Worldwide	2	1	1	0	1.75
Corteva	0	9	14	0	2.61

Kronos Worldwide presently has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.58%. Corteva has a consensus price target of $91.67, suggesting a potential upside of 12.97%. Given Corteva’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Corteva is more favorable than Kronos Worldwide.

Volatility and Risk

Kronos Worldwide has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corteva has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kronos Worldwide	-5.63%	-12.28%	-5.16%
Corteva	5.66%	10.18%	6.00%

Dividends

Kronos Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Corteva pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Kronos Worldwide pays out -21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Corteva pays out 47.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Corteva has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Kronos Worldwide is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kronos Worldwide and Corteva”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kronos Worldwide	$1.86 billion	0.50	-$110.90 million	($0.95)	-8.56
Corteva	$17.40 billion	3.11	$1.09 billion	$1.51	53.74

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

15.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.5% of Corteva shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Corteva shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Corteva beats Kronos Worldwide on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Corteva

Corteva, Inc. operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics. This segment also provides digital solutions that assist farmer decision-making with a view to optimize product selection, and maximize yield and profitability. The Crop Protection segment offers products that protect against weeds, insects and other pests, and diseases, as well as enhances crop health above and below ground through nitrogen management and seed-applied technologies. This segment provides herbicides, insecticides, nitrogen stabilizers, and pasture and range management herbicides. It serves agricultural input industry. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Corteva, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.