Tronox Holdings PLC $TROX Shares Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Tronox by 38.2% to 723,164 shares (about 0.46% of the company, ~$3.02M), while other firms like Lightrock Netherlands and Shah Capital also made large additions, leaving 73.36% institutional ownership.
• Tronox reported a ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing estimates of ($0.43) and showing negative margins and ROE, while analysts are mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a $6.55 target; the stock recently traded near $10.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share (annualized $0.20, ~2.0% yield; ex-dividend May 11), even as insiders sold 172,711 shares over the past 90 days.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Free Report) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 723,164 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.46% of Tronox worth $3,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter worth $197,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 3,051,286 shares of the company's stock worth $12,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,115 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Pacific Sage Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Shah Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 650.0% in the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $12,510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,000 shares during the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TROX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Tronox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Tronox from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tronox has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.55.

Tronox Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:TROX opened at $10.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 0.93. Tronox Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $2.86 and a 12-month high of $10.59.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $730.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.22 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 14.75% and a negative net margin of 16.22%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.11 EPS for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -6.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon sold 18,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total transaction of $122,515.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 754,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,976,459.40. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Flood sold 8,008 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $52,692.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 92,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,025.38. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,711 shares of company stock worth $1,145,137. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Tronox Company Profile

Tronox Holdings plc is a vertically integrated global producer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigment and specialty materials. The company's operations encompass the full supply chain for TiO₂, from mining and processing titanium-bearing ores—such as ilmenite and rutile—to the production of high-purity pigment for use in paints, coatings, plastics, paper and other industrial applications. In addition to TiO₂, Tronox's product portfolio includes zircon, rare earth byproducts and other specialty minerals that serve a range of industrial markets.

Tronox operates a network of mines, processing facilities and pigment plants located across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.

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