Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Price Up 9.5% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) shot up 9.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.66 and last traded at $5.73. 463,866 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,799,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TROX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Tronox from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $5.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Tronox from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Tronox from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Tronox from $12.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.56.

Tronox Stock Down 0.3%

The stock has a market cap of $904.01 million, a PE ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 2.28. The company's 50-day moving average price is $5.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.05.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $738.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $745.96 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 1.57% and a negative net margin of 4.94%. The company's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.05) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Tronox Holdings PLC will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.76%. Tronox's payout ratio is -52.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tronox news, SVP Jeffrey N. Neuman purchased 10,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.89 per share, for a total transaction of $50,200.74. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 10,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,200.74. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TROX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Tronox by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,456,867 shares of the company's stock worth $24,741,000 after purchasing an additional 244,646 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the fourth quarter valued at $701,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,026,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,332,000 after buying an additional 175,200 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 573,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,776,000 after buying an additional 80,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.