Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Tronox shares fell sharply after JPMorgan downgraded the stock from neutral to underweight and set a $5 price target; shares opened at $5.58 versus a prior close of $6.17.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly negative, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $6.93. Goldman Sachs also lowered its target to $6.50 and maintained a sell rating.
• Tronox reported a quarterly loss of $0.51 per share, missing estimates, although revenue rose 18.7% year over year to $868 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $6.17, but opened at $5.58. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $5.00 price target on the stock. Tronox shares last traded at $6.0340, with a volume of 541,813 shares traded.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on TROX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Tronox from $9.00 to $6.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised shares of Tronox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tronox in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 292.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Tronox during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Tronox during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tronox Stock Down 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $961.11 million, a P/E ratio of -1.74 and a beta of 0.82.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.13). Tronox had a negative return on equity of 24.34% and a negative net margin of 17.96%.The firm had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.28) EPS. Tronox's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -5.78%.

Tronox Company Profile

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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