Tronox (NYSE:TROX) Hits New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $8.29 and last traded at $8.88, with a volume of 501183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.83.

The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.03). Tronox had a negative net margin of 2.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TROX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Tronox from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Tronox from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Tronox from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Tronox from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tronox presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TROX. FMR LLC boosted its position in Tronox by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,805,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,674 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tronox by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,650,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,390,000 after purchasing an additional 193,895 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Tronox by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,938,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616,804 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Tronox by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,713,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,708,000 after purchasing an additional 22,165 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,630,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,486,000 after acquiring an additional 551,645 shares in the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Tronox Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.49 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 2.72.

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.