UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS cut its Tronox price target from $4.50 to $2.75 and maintained a neutral rating, implying about 2% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: the consensus rating is “Reduce,” with one Buy, four Hold, and four Sell ratings; the average target is $5.04.
• Tronox missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting a loss of $0.34 per share and $827 million in revenue, though revenue rose 18.3% year over year.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $4.50 to $2.75 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential downside of 1.96% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TROX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Tronox from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Tronox from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Tronox from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $5.04.

Tronox Stock Performance

NYSE TROX traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $2.81. 2,598,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,106,534. The company has a market cap of $447.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 0.98. Tronox has a 12-month low of $2.41 and a 12-month high of $10.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.86 and a 200 day moving average of $6.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Tronox

In other news, Director Peter Johnston acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.63 per share, with a total value of $52,600.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 224,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $590,332.43. This trade represents a 9.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Tronox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Tronox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Tronox by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 19,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC increased its holdings in Tronox by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 10,098 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.36% of the company's stock.

About Tronox

Tronox Holdings plc is a vertically integrated producer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigment and mineral-sands products. Its operations span the value chain from mining titanium-bearing mineral sands to processing them into feedstocks and finished products. The company's products include TiO₂ pigment, used to add whiteness, brightness and opacity to paints, coatings, plastics and other materials. Tronox also produces titanium feedstocks such as chloride-grade slag and synthetic rutile, as well as zircon, which is used in ceramics and other applications.

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