Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Tronox Holdings PLC has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from nine analysts, with one sell rating, three hold ratings, and five buy ratings, and a 12-month price target averaging $5.01.
• The company reported a significant earnings miss for the last quarter, with an EPS of ($0.28) against an estimate of ($0.04), and total revenue of $731 million, down 10.9% year-over-year.
• Tronox has recently cut its dividend to $0.05 per share, reflecting a yield of 4.8%, while insiders have increased their ownership with multiple recent stock purchases.

Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.0111.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TROX shares. Truist Financial set a $5.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Alembic Global Advisors reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Tronox from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Tronox from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Tronox from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $3.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th.

Insider Activity at Tronox

In related news, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle acquired 12,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.07 per share, with a total value of $38,682.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 146,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,062.82. This represents a 9.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones acquired 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 51,000 shares of the company's stock, 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 bought a total of 184,750 shares of company stock valued at $579,714 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 48.9% during the second 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.36% of the company's stock.

Tronox Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TROX traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $4.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,412,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,028,194. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $715.56 million, a PE ratio of -2.86 and a beta of 1.31. Tronox has a 12 month low of $2.95 and a 12 month high of $15.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.50.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.24). Tronox had a negative net margin of 8.48% and a negative return on equity of 4.83%. The company had revenue of $731.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The business's revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Tronox has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Tronox will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.66%.

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.