JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Tronox (NYSE:TROX) to "Neutral"

Key Points

• JPMorgan upgraded Tronox from “underweight” to “neutral.” Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $5.33.
• Tronox shares opened at $2.48, close to their 52-week low of $2.41. The stock was down 1% in the session.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.34 per share, worse than analysts’ expected loss of $0.21, and revenue of $827 million, below expectations of $854.43 million; revenue rose 18.3% year over year.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Monday, FinViz reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Tronox from $7.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Tronox from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tronox presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $5.33.

Tronox Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:TROX opened at $2.48 on Monday. Tronox has a fifty-two week low of $2.41 and a fifty-two week high of $10.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.55. The company has a market cap of $396.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 0.98.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $827.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $854.43 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 25.02% and a negative net margin of 15.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Tronox will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TROX. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 19.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 157,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 25,884 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Tronox by 98.8% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 10,098 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 19,981 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 51,345 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tronox Company Profile

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.

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