Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Up 7.1% – Still a Buy?

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX)’s stock price shot up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $3.76 and last traded at $3.7050. Approximately 1,022,488 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,071,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Tronox in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Tronox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Tronox from $7.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.33.

Tronox Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $574.12 million, a P/E ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.92.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.59 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 17.96% and a negative return on equity of 24.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.28) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio is -5.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TROX. Shah Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 2,915,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,517,000 after buying an additional 344,993 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Tronox by 21,419.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,065,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,713 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Tronox by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Tronox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,355,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Tronox by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 235,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tronox Company Profile

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) is a global producer of titanium dioxide pigment and other titanium products. Its titanium dioxide is used to provide whiteness, brightness and opacity in paints and coatings, plastics, paper, inks and related applications. The company also produces zircon and other mineral sands products used in ceramics, refractories, foundries and industrial applications.

Tronox operates an integrated business that includes the mining of mineral sands, production of titanium-bearing feedstocks, and manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment and specialty products.