Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $13.44, but opened at $12.35. Tronox shares last traded at $12.75, with a volume of 234,420 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $804.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $790.63 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 3.40% and a negative net margin of 2.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Tronox's payout ratio is -22.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TROX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Tronox from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Tronox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised Tronox from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.83.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TROX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Tronox by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Tronox by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,119,037 shares of the company's stock worth $19,415,000 after purchasing an additional 139,956 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Tronox by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 609,961 shares of the company's stock worth $10,583,000 after purchasing an additional 46,563 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Tronox during the first quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Tronox by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 21,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.36% of the company's stock.

Tronox Stock Performance

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 has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -5.57, a PEG ratio of 28.15 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.90.

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.