Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Tronox from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Tronox from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.86.

Tronox Stock Performance

Tronox stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $17.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 648,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,628. Tronox has a one year low of $10.08 and a one year high of $17.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 1.93.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $686.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $668.95 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 11.09% and a negative return on equity of 1.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Tronox will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Tronox by 42.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,210,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,266,000 after acquiring an additional 361,727 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Tronox by 2.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 132,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Tronox by 10.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,851,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,882,000 after purchasing an additional 169,544 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Tronox by 85.8% in the third quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 743,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,991,000 after purchasing an additional 343,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tronox by 371.6% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 551,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,418,000 after acquiring an additional 434,900 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.