Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.83.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Tronox from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Tronox in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Tronox from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised 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 valued at $18,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398,038 shares during the period. Shah Capital Management lifted its holdings in Tronox by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 2,915,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,517,000 after purchasing an additional 344,993 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Tronox by 21,419.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Tronox by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Tronox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,355,000. Institutional investors own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Tronox Price Performance

NYSE TROX opened at $3.46 on Friday. Tronox has a 12 month low of $2.86 and a 12 month high of $10.59. The stock has a market cap of $551.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share 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 net margin of 17.96% and a negative return on equity of 24.34%. Tronox’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.28) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Tronox will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Tronox’s payout ratio is presently -5.78%.

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.