Tronox Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TROX)

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 10,076 put options on the company. This is an increase of 890% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,018 put options.

Tronox Price Performance

TROX traded down $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.65. The stock had a trading volume of 557,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,594. Tronox has a 1-year low of $2.86 and a 1-year high of $10.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $901.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $760.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.38 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 19.93% and a negative net margin of 15.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tronox will post -1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio is currently -6.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on TROX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price target on Tronox in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Tronox from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Tronox from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Tronox from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tronox has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,347,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398,038 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Tronox by 199.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,059,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,277,000 after buying an additional 1,371,158 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Tronox by 355.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,650,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,366,000 after buying an additional 1,287,755 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Tronox by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 3,051,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,724,000 after buying an additional 1,222,115 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tronox by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,637,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,508,000 after buying an additional 1,205,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Tronox Company Profile

Tronox Holdings plc is a vertically integrated global producer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigment and specialty materials. The company’s operations encompass the full supply chain for TiO₂, from mining and processing titanium-bearing ores—such as ilmenite and rutile—to the production of high-purity pigment for use in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other industrial applications. In addition to TiO₂, Tronox’s product portfolio includes zircon, rare earth byproducts and other specialty minerals that serve a range of industrial markets.

Tronox operates a network of mines, processing facilities and pigment plants located across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.