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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

TROX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Tronox from $7.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Tronox from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $5.33.

Tronox Stock Up 3.9%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.59 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 24.34% and a negative net margin of 17.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.28) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tronox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Tronox during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in shares of Tronox during the first quarter valued at approximately $121,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Tronox during the first quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Tronox during the second quarter valued at approximately $114,000. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Tronox

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.