Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,950,000 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the August 31st total of 4,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Tronox by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 75,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 13,689 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Tronox in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,760,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $702,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tronox by 260,833.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 7,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tronox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.36% of the company’s stock.

Tronox Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Tronox stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.63. 1,358,610 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,103,599. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Tronox has a twelve month low of $10.08 and a twelve month high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.11). Tronox had a negative return on equity of 3.40% and a negative net margin of 2.14%. The firm had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tronox will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TROX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Tronox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Tronox from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.67.

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.