Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC gapped down from a previous close of $5.00 to $4.75, with recent trading at $4.79, indicating a significant drop in stock value.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with target prices ranging from $3.00 to $8.00, suggesting a lack of consensus on the stock's potential future performance.
• The company recently reported a quarterly loss of ($0.28) EPS, missing analysts' estimates, and anticipates a negative net margin for the year.

Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $5.00, but opened at $4.75. Tronox shares last traded at $4.79, with a volume of 306,983 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Tronox from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $8.00 to $3.60 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Tronox from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial set a $5.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.90.

Tronox Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $769.46 million, a PE ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $4.52 and its 200-day moving average is $5.39.

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

Tronox Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Tronox's payout ratio is presently -12.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John D. Romano bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.09 per share, with a total value of $309,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,333,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,120,468.65. This trade represents a 8.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Jones bought 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,690. The trade was a 18.60% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 184,750 shares of company stock worth $579,714. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in Tronox by 192.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,502 shares of the company's stock worth $21,560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,002 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Tronox by 2.5% in the first quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 2,868,837 shares of the company's stock worth $20,197,000 after acquiring an additional 69,726 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Tronox by 15.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,832,510 shares of the company's stock worth $19,941,000 after acquiring an additional 375,643 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Tronox by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,826,014 shares of the company's stock worth $14,329,000 after acquiring an additional 31,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Tronox by 97.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,587,831 shares of the company's stock worth $13,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,175 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.