Financial Contrast: Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV)

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.1% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Mativ shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Kronos Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Mativ shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Kronos Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Mativ pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Kronos Worldwide pays out -21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mativ pays out 25.3% 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. Mativ has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Mativ is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kronos Worldwide and Mativ, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kronos Worldwide	2	1	1	0	1.75
Mativ	0	2	0	0	2.00

Kronos Worldwide currently has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.95%. Given Kronos Worldwide’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Kronos Worldwide is more favorable than Mativ.

Risk and Volatility

Kronos Worldwide has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mativ has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kronos Worldwide and Mativ”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kronos Worldwide	$1.86 billion	0.52	-$110.90 million	($0.95)	-8.86
Mativ	$1.99 billion	0.35	-$337.40 million	$1.58	8.01

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

Profitability

This table compares Kronos Worldwide and Mativ’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%
Mativ	4.50%	13.53%	3.08%

Summary

Mativ beats Kronos Worldwide on 11 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 Mativ

Mativ Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Technical Materials and Fiber-Based Solutions. The Advanced Technical Materials manufactures and sells various engineered polymer, resin and fiber-based substrates, nets, films, adhesive tapes, and other nonwovens for the filtration, protective solutions, release liners, and healthcare end-markets. This segment sells its products directly, as well as through sales agents and distributors. The Fiber-Based Solutions segment produces packaging and specialty paper products. This segment provides premium packaging products that are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets; and premium papers, which are used in commercial printing services, advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, direct mail, business cards, and other uses. It also offers branded paper-based products for the consumer channel, such as bright papers, cardstock, stationery paper, envelopes, journals, and planners. This segment distributes its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and specialty business converters, as well as directly to end-users. The company was formerly known as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. and changed its name to Mativ Holdings, Inc. in July 2022. Mativ Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.