Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Up 6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Tronox shares rose 6% on Wednesday, trading as high as $8.09, though volume was far below average.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed: UBS lifted its price target to $9.00, but the overall consensus remains "Reduce" with an average target of $6.80.
• The company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $0.55 per share, even as revenue rose 3% year over year to $760 million and it maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share.

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) was up 6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.09 and last traded at $8.1520. Approximately 200,897 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 3,684,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TROX shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Tronox in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Tronox from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Tronox from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tronox has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $6.80.

Tronox Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.47.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $760.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.38 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 15.82% and a negative return on equity of 19.93%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings PLC will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Tronox's dividend payout ratio is currently -6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tronox

In related news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon sold 18,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total transaction of $122,515.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 754,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,976,459.40. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jeffrey A. Engle sold 14,575 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 $96,195.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 175,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,156,656.60. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 172,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,145,137 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 60,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,496 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd now owns 19,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,890,000 after buying an additional 3,225 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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