Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Trading 5.6% Higher

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX)’s stock price was up 5.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.28 and last traded at $17.10. Approximately 577,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,150,351 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TROX shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Tronox from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tronox to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Tronox from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.86.

Tronox Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.33). Tronox had a negative net margin of 11.09% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. The company had revenue of $686.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $668.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tronox Holdings plc will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Tronox’s payout ratio is -24.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 20,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Tronox in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Tronox in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

About Tronox

Tronox Holdings plc operates as a vertically integrated manufacturer of TiO2 pigment in North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates titanium-bearing mineral sand mines; and engages in beneficiation and smelting operations. It offers TiO2 pigment; ultrafine specialty TiO2; zircon; feedstock; pig iron; monazite; titanium tetrachloride; and other products.