Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Sees Large Volume Increase on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Tronox saw a significant increase in trading volume, with approximately 6.7 million shares changing hands—up 145% from the previous session—following insider buys from CEO John D. Romano and SVP Jeffrey A. Engle.
• Several brokerages downgraded Tronox's ratings, with UBS lowering their price target from $8.50 to $8.00 while Morgan Stanley cut theirs from $12.00 to $8.00, highlighting a mixed outlook among analysts.
• Tronox recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, resulting in a yield of 14.7%, despite the company's negative net margin of 8.48% for the last quarter.

Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday following insider buying activity. Approximately 6,713,646 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 145% from the previous session's volume of 2,735,358 shares.The stock last traded at $3.40 and had previously closed at $3.19.

Specifically, CEO John D. Romano acquired 100,000 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.09 per share, with a total value of $309,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,333,485 shares in the company, valued at $4,120,468.65. This trade represents a 8.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle acquired 12,600 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.07 per share, with a total value of $38,682.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 146,926 shares in the company, valued at $451,062.82. The trade was a 9.38% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on TROX. Wall Street Zen cut Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Tronox from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Tronox from $12.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Tronox from $14.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Tronox from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.06.

Tronox Stock Up 6.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.46 and a 200 day moving average of $6.60. The company has a market capitalization of $537.98 million, a PE ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.24). Tronox had a negative net margin of 8.48% and a negative return on equity of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $731.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $802.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings PLC will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -31.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TROX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Tronox during the first quarter worth approximately $102,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Tronox by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 101,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 35,146 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Tronox by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 284,353 shares of the company's stock worth $2,863,000 after acquiring an additional 81,078 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $701,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Tronox by 36.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,936 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 8,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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