Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Trading 10.1% Higher

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) shares shot up 10.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $14.59 and last traded at $14.55. 626,807 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 1,133,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TROX. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Tronox in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tronox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.17.

Tronox Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.32.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $820.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.04 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 3.40% and a negative net margin of 2.14%. Tronox’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Tronox Holdings plc will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Tronox’s payout ratio is -22.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Tronox in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,152,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Tronox by 2.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,757,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,536,000 after acquiring an additional 126,926 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Tronox by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,477,000 after acquiring an additional 281,110 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Tronox by 160.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,018,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,664,000 after acquiring an additional 626,744 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tronox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Hedge funds and other 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.