Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Trading Down 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) traded down 5.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.11 and last traded at $9.1970. 2,351,131 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 4,041,442 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TROX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Tronox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Tronox from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Tronox from $5.25 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Tronox from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.40.

Tronox Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.26.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.17). Tronox had a negative net margin of 16.22% and a negative return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $730.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $730.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Tronox’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings PLC will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Tronox’s payout ratio is currently -6.73%.

Insider Transactions at Tronox

In other news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon sold 18,563 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total value of $122,515.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 754,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,976,459.40. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle sold 14,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total value of $96,195.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 175,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,656.60. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,711 shares of company stock worth $1,145,137. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TROX. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Tronox by 693.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 469,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after buying an additional 409,902 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Tronox by 1,712.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 848,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 801,620 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Tronox by 887.3% in the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 689,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 619,351 shares during the last quarter. Shah Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Tronox by 650.0% in the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,712,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,883,000 after acquiring an additional 552,845 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Tronox

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.