Why Kronos Worldwide's Shares Dropped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of titanium dioxide maker Kronos Worldwide (NYS: KRO) fell 12% today after releasing earnings.

So what: Sales were up 34% from a year ago to $561.3 million and net income more than doubled in the first quarter to $136.9 million, or $1.18 per share, on higher selling prices and volumes. Both numbers easily outpaced estimates, but management did say that higher raw materials costs are expected to come through in 2012.

Now what: I'm not seeing a whole lot of bad news here as the higher raw material costs are being offset by higher selling prices. The company is off to a good start in 2012, and even without adjusting for today's earnings beat, shares are trading at just 7.5 times 2012 earnings estimates. I think the market is pricing in a nice value, and shares have further to run higher after this earnings report.

Interested in more info on Kronos Worldwide? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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