Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tronox (NYSE:TROX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on TROX. Barclays boosted their price target on Tronox from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho began coverage on Tronox in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Tronox from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Tronox from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.00.

Tronox Price Performance

TROX opened at $15.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.04, a PEG ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 1.83. Tronox has a 1 year low of $10.08 and a 1 year high of $20.70. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.19.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $774.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $753.98 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 11.93% and a negative return on equity of 2.74%. Tronox’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Tronox will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio is -22.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TROX. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,234,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,483,000 after purchasing an additional 90,500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,951,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,627,000 after purchasing an additional 127,718 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,185,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,192 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Tronox by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,477,000 after purchasing an additional 281,110 shares during the period. 73.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Tronox Company Profile

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.