Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Price Down 11.3% After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Tronox shares fell 11.3% after reporting Q EPS of $(0.55) versus $(0.48) expected, even as revenue of $760 million modestly beat estimates; the company reported negative net margin and return on equity.
• Quarterly dividend declared: Tronox will pay $0.05 per share (annualized $0.20, ~2.3% yield) with an ex-dividend date of May 11 and payment on July 8.
• Mixed analyst and insider signals: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $6.55 target, while insiders sold about 172,711 shares in the last three months and institutional ownership stands near 73%.

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) fell 11.3% on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $9.05 and last traded at $8.9810. 547,120 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,668,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.12.

The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $760.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $751.38 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 14.75% and a negative net margin of 16.22%.Tronox's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Tronox's dividend payout ratio is presently -6.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TROX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Tronox from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial cut Tronox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on Tronox from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Tronox from $7.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.55.

Insider Transactions at Tronox

In other news, insider Jonathan Flood sold 8,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $52,692.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,025.38. This trade represents a 7.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $96,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 175,251 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,711 shares of company stock valued at $1,145,137. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions 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 worth $250,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Tronox by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,576 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd grew its position in shares of Tronox by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd now owns 19,600 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Tronox by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,574 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Tronox by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 500,461 shares of the company's stock worth $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.36% of the company's stock.

Tronox Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.51 and a 200-day moving average of $6.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -2.99 and a beta of 0.83.

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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