Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• EPS miss: Tronox reported ($0.55) EPS, missing consensus by $0.07, and showed weak profitability with a negative net margin (16.22%) and negative return on equity (14.75%).
• Shares fell about 3% to $10.17 on heavy volume (5.51M vs. avg. 3.70M); the company has a market cap of $1.61B and a 52-week range of $2.86–$10.59.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 (annualized $0.20, ~2.0% yield) despite a negative payout ratio, and insiders have sold roughly 172,711 shares over the past 90 days.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.07), Zacks reports. Tronox had a negative net margin of 16.22% and a negative return on equity of 14.75%.

Tronox Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE TROX traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,514,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,703,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $8.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.12. Tronox has a fifty-two week low of $2.86 and a fifty-two week high of $10.59.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TROX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial lowered Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the company from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Tronox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Flood sold 8,008 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total transaction of $52,692.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 92,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,025.38. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey N. Neuman sold 22,965 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $151,339.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 248,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,639,796.29. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,145,137. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 60,004 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,576 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Tronox by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Tronox by 38.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 13,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 3,775 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Tronox by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 118,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.