Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Price Target Cut to $4.50 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group has lowered Tronox's price target from $7.00 to $4.50, while maintaining a "buy" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 39.10%.
• Other analysts have also cut their price targets for Tronox, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $4.00 and Barclays at $8.00, indicating varying outlooks within the investment community.
• CEO John D. Romano and SVP Jeffrey A. Engle purchased shares of Tronox, signaling insider confidence despite the recent stock price volatility.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Free Report) had its target price reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $7.00 to $4.50 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on TROX. Mizuho lowered their price target on Tronox from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Tronox from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut shares of Tronox from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $3.60 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tronox has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.01.

Tronox Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of TROX stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.16. 3,083,411 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,237,048. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.22. Tronox has a 12-month low of $2.95 and a 12-month high of $15.07. The stock has a market cap of $500.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.00 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last released its 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 analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Tronox will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Tronox Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a yield of 629.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio is presently -31.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John D. Romano purchased 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.09 per share, for a total transaction of $309,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,333,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,120,468.65. This trade represents a 8.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones bought 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 51,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,690. This represents a 18.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 164,750 shares of company stock valued at $515,514. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 832.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,397 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 763.5% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,127 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 48.9% in 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 during the period. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 1,186.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9,897 shares during the period. 73.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.