Morgan Stanley Cuts Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Price Target to $8.00

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $12.00 to $8.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on TROX. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Tronox from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Tronox from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Tronox from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Tronox from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tronox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.64.

Tronox Stock Performance

Shares of TROX stock opened at $4.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.15 and a 200 day moving average of $9.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $773.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.79 and a beta of 1.40. Tronox has a 1 year low of $4.35 and a 1 year high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.17). Tronox had a negative return on equity of 0.63% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $738.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Tronox will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.21%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Jones purchased 30,000 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.17 per share, with a total value of $215,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $215,100. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TROX. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tronox by 832.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 763.5% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 8,070 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Tronox by 1,186.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Tronox by 1,070.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 10,295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Tronox Company Profile

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.