Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Tronox shares reached a new 52-week high of $9.95 (last $9.66) even though the consensus analyst price target is $6.65 and ratings are mixed (4 Buy, 6 Hold, 2 Sell).
• The company posted an earnings miss—quarterly EPS of ($0.60) vs. ($0.43) expected—alongside a negative net margin (16.22%) and negative ROE, with analysts forecasting roughly ($1.12) EPS for the year.
• Insiders have been net sellers (172,711 shares sold in the last 90 days, including CEO and a director), while institutional ownership is high at 73.36% and several hedge funds significantly increased positions (e.g., Shah Capital to 3,000,000 shares).

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $9.95 and last traded at $9.6630, with a volume of 4482 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Tronox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $9.00 price target (up from $8.00) on shares of Tronox in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.65.

Tronox Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.77.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.17). Tronox had a negative net margin of 16.22% and a negative return on equity of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $730.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -6.73%.

Insider Activity at Tronox

In other Tronox news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon sold 18,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total transaction of $122,515.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 754,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,976,459.40. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John D. Romano sold 101,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $669,544.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,473,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,946.60. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,145,137. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Shah Capital Management boosted its holdings in Tronox by 650.0% in the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600,000 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Tronox by 693.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 469,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 409,902 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Tronox by 887.3% in the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 689,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,770,000 after purchasing an additional 619,351 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,712,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,883,000 after acquiring an additional 552,845 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Tronox by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 552,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,222,000 after acquiring an additional 93,012 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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