StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Tronox (NYSE:TROX)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Tronox (NYSE:TROX – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on TROX. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Tronox from $16.01 to $18.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Tronox from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Tronox from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reiterated an underperform rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a report on Thursday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $16.88.

Tronox Price Performance

Shares of TROX opened at $12.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 4.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.31. Tronox has a fifty-two week low of $11.09 and a fifty-two week high of $21.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.23.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $649.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $659.43 million. Tronox had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 14.39%. Tronox’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Tronox will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Investors of record on Monday, March 6th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jean Francois Turgeon sold 93,942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total value of $1,457,040.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 756,732 shares in the company, valued at $11,736,913.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Tronox news, insider Jonathan Flood sold 29,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total value of $455,311.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,991 shares in the company, valued at $356,590.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jean Francois Turgeon sold 93,942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total transaction of $1,457,040.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 756,732 shares in the company, valued at $11,736,913.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,487 shares of company stock worth $3,032,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Tronox in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Tronox by 184.6% during the 3rd quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 242,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 156,971 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of Tronox by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 248,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Tronox by 255.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 161,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 115,767 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Tronox by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,068,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,152,000 after purchasing an additional 3,543,043 shares during the period. 67.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Tronox

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Tronox Holdings Plc engages in the mining and inorganic chemical business. Its products include Titanium Dioxide Mineral Sands. The firm also mines and processes titanium ore, zircon and other minerals, and manufactures titanium dioxide pigments. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.