Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Price Down 11.3% After Earnings Miss

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX)’s share price dropped 11.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $9.05 and last traded at $8.9810. Approximately 547,120 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,668,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.12.

The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $760.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $751.38 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 16.22% and a negative return on equity of 14.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -6.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Tronox from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial downgraded Tronox from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research raised Tronox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Tronox in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John D. Romano sold 101,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $669,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,473,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,946.60. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jeffrey N. Neuman sold 22,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $151,339.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 248,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,639,796.29. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 172,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,145,137 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 203.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,534,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,378,023 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Tronox by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,637,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205,249 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Tronox by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 5,478,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,845,000 after purchasing an additional 773,900 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its stake in Tronox by 123.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its stake in Tronox by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 3,051,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,115 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tronox Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.99 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.51 and a 200 day moving average of $6.16.

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.