Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Given New $4.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

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 cut by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $8.00 to $4.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on TROX. UBS Group lowered shares of Tronox from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $3.60 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tronox from $11.50 to $7.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Tronox from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $5.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.01.

Tronox Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Tronox stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,457,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,237,048. Tronox has a 12 month low of $2.95 and a 12 month high of $15.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.27. The stock has a market cap of $499.34 million, a PE ratio of -1.99 and a beta of 1.35.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $731.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.03 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 8.48% and a negative return on equity of 4.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tronox will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tronox

In other news, Director Stephen J. Jones bought 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 51,000 shares in the company, valued at $162,690. This trade represents a 18.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle bought 12,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.07 per share, for a total transaction of $38,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 146,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,062.82. This represents a 9.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 164,750 shares of company stock worth $515,514. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Tronox by 832.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Tronox by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares in the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tronox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Tronox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tronox by 763.5% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 8,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company's stock.

About Tronox

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.