Morgan Stanley Lowers Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Price Target to $4.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has cut the price target for Tronox (NYSE:TROX) from $8.00 to $4.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• The stock is currently experiencing a significant drop, trading down 4.7% and reaching $3.18 during midday trading.
• Multiple analysts have revised their ratings, with the consensus price target now standing at $5.39, reflecting a mixture of buy, hold, and sell ratings among analysts.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $8.00 to $4.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.20% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on TROX. Wall Street Zen cut Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Tronox from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Tronox from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $3.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Truist Financial set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Tronox from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.01.

Tronox Price Performance

Tronox stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,742,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,884,345. Tronox has a fifty-two week low of $2.95 and a fifty-two week high of $15.07. The company has a market cap of $506.28 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.37.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $731.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.03 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 8.48% and a negative return on equity of 4.83%. Tronox's revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tronox will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Tronox news, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle purchased 12,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.07 per share, for a total transaction of $38,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 146,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,062.82. The trade was a 9.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,690. The trade was a 18.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 133,600 shares of company stock valued at $415,522 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Tronox by 832.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 763.5% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Tronox by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,844 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Tronox in the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Tronox by 1,186.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.36% of the company's stock.

Tronox Company Profile

Tronox Holdings plc operates as a vertically integrated manufacturer of TiO2 pigment in North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates titanium-bearing mineral sand mines; and engages in beneficiation and smelting operations. It offers TiO2 pigment; ultrafine specialty TiO2; zircon; feedstock; pig iron; monazite; titanium tetrachloride; and other products.