Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX)’s share price 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TROX shares. Mizuho reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Tronox from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Tronox from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a report on Monday, August 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.90.

Tronox Stock Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.52 and its 200-day moving average is $5.40. The stock has a market cap of $769.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 1.32.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.24). Tronox had a negative net margin of 8.48% and a negative return on equity of 4.83%. The firm had revenue of $731.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.03 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Tronox has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Tronox Holdings PLC will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Tronox Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Tronox

In related news, Director Jean Francois Turgeon purchased 31,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.21 per share, with a total value of $99,991.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 772,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,479,956.12. This represents a 4.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Johnston acquired 20,000 shares of Tronox stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.21 per share, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 191,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,756.73. The trade was a 11.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 184,750 shares of company stock valued at $579,714. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Tronox by 192.2% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,560,000 after buying an additional 2,797,002 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake 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 valued at $20,197,000 after buying an additional 69,726 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $19,941,000 after buying an additional 375,643 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Tronox by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,826,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,329,000 after buying an additional 31,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Tronox by 97.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,587,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after buying an additional 1,277,175 shares during the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.