Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 139,795 Shares of Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,065,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 139,795 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.67% of Tronox worth $14,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Tronox by 109.3% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,646,916 shares of the company's stock worth $41,530,000 after buying an additional 1,381,975 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Tronox during the first quarter worth about $19,152,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Tronox by 160.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,018,025 shares of the company's stock worth $17,664,000 after purchasing an additional 626,744 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Tronox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,489,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Tronox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,717,000. 73.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tronox Trading Up 4.2 %

TROX traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.65. The company had a trading volume of 3,200,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,161. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.58 and a beta of 1.66. Tronox Holdings plc has a 52 week low of $10.76 and a 52 week high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $804.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $790.63 million. Tronox had a negative return on equity of 3.91% and a negative net margin of 2.40%. Tronox's revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Tronox Holdings plc will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Tronox's dividend payout ratio is -104.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Tronox from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group upgraded Tronox from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Tronox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tronox presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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.