Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Down 6.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Tronox Holdings PLC's stock declined by 6.3% following an analyst downgrade by Mizuho, reducing its price target from $4.00 to $3.50.
• Several other firms have also lowered their ratings and price targets, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $5.10.
• Tronox announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05, reflecting a 5.4% dividend yield, despite a negative earnings per share and decrease in revenue year-over-year.

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 6.3% on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $4.00 to $3.50. Mizuho currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Tronox traded as low as $3.69 and last traded at $3.67. 719,991 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,206,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.91.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TROX. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Tronox from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Tronox from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Tronox from $3.60 to $3.90 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon acquired 31,150 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.21 per share, for a total transaction of $99,991.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 772,572 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,956.12. This trade represents a 4.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones acquired 8,000 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tronox in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Tronox by 1,186.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 9,897 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Tronox by 1,070.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 10,295 shares during the period. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tronox Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $585.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.13 and a 200 day moving average of $4.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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

Tronox Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.

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