StockNews.com Downgrades Tronox (NYSE:TROX) to Sell

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Tronox from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Tronox from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.33.

Tronox Price Performance

Shares of TROX stock opened at $18.84 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $16.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.22. Tronox has a fifty-two week low of $10.08 and a fifty-two week high of $19.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Tronox had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $774.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $753.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Tronox’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Tronox will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Tronox by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,476,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,677,000 after acquiring an additional 41,481 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Tronox by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,248,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,960,000 after purchasing an additional 597,663 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tronox by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,185,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,583,000 after purchasing an additional 876,192 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,630,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,564,000 after purchasing an additional 449,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tronox by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,951,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,627,000 after buying an additional 127,718 shares during the last quarter. 73.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.