Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Tronox from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Tronox from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Tronox in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tronox has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.83.

Tronox Stock Performance

Shares of Tronox stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $3.46. 1,518,777 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,237,751. The firm has a market cap of $553.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.92. Tronox has a 1-year low of $2.86 and a 1-year high of $10.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 2.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.67.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.28) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Tronox will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Tronox by 21,419.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,065,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,713 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox during the second quarter valued at $4,355,000. Shah Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 13.4% during the third quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 2,915,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,517,000 after purchasing an additional 344,993 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox during the first quarter valued at $2,102,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tronox in the first quarter worth about $850,000. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Tronox

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) is a global producer of titanium dioxide pigment, a white pigment used to provide brightness, opacity and durability in products such as paints and coatings, plastics, paper and specialty materials. The company also produces titanium feedstocks, including titanium slag and synthetic rutile, as well as zircon and other mineral-sands products.

Tronox operates an integrated business that spans the mining and processing of mineral sands, the production of titanium feedstocks and the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment.