JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Tronox (NYSE:TROX) to "Overweight"

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $7.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $5.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on TROX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Tronox from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Tronox from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Tronox from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $7.00 target price (down from $13.00) on shares of Tronox in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tronox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.31.

Tronox Trading Up 11.8%

NYSE:TROX traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.70. 8,164,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $903.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.39 and a beta of 1.40. Tronox has a 52-week low of $4.35 and a 52-week high of $20.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.18.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.17). Tronox had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 0.63%. The business had revenue of $738.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $745.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Tronox will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.77%. Tronox's payout ratio is currently -52.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jeffrey N. Neuman acquired 10,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.89 per share, for a total transaction of $50,200.74. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 10,266 shares in the company, valued at $50,200.74. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones acquired 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.17 per share, for a total transaction of $215,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,100. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 832.6% during 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 raised its stake 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 valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 8,070 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 1,186.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 9,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Tronox by 1,070.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 10,295 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by 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.