Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) Director Stephen J. Jones Acquires 30,000 Shares of Stock

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) Director Stephen J. Jones bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.17 per share, for a total transaction of $215,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,100. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Tronox Price Performance

Shares of TROX stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.51. 216,577 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,175,954. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -24.14 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.98. Tronox Holdings plc has a 1-year low of $6.64 and a 1-year high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.03). Tronox had a negative return on equity of 0.63% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tronox Holdings plc will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.66%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -161.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tronox

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 60.6% during 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 last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Tronox by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,805,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,270,000 after buying an additional 1,073,674 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Tronox in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,183,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Tronox by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,060,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,034,000 after acquiring an additional 781,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 26.5% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Tronox from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Tronox from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Tronox from $13.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Tronox from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Tronox from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

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.