Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Tronox (NYSE:TROX)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Traders purchased 10,076 put options on Tronox, approximately 890% above the average volume of 1,018 contracts.
• Shares declined 4.9% to $5.65 as Tronox reported a quarterly loss of $0.55 per share, missing analyst expectations, despite revenue rising 3% year over year to $760 million.
• Tronox announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, while analysts maintain a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $6.79.

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 10,076 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 890% compared to the average volume of 1,018 put options.

Tronox Trading Down 4.9%

TROX stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.65. The stock had a trading volume of 557,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,594. The company's 50-day moving average price is $6.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $901.29 million, a PE ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 0.82. Tronox has a 12-month low of $2.86 and a 12-month high of $10.59.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $760.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.38 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 15.82% and a negative return on equity of 19.93%. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Tronox will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -6.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on TROX. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised Tronox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 target price on Tronox in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Tronox from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tronox has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $6.79.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Tronox during the 1st quarter worth $1,188,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,574 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Tronox by 12.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 366,203 shares of the company's stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 41,092 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Tronox by 93.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 118,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 57,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Tronox during the second quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 73.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Tronox

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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