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

Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tronox

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TROX. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the 1st quarter worth $19,152,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Tronox by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,757,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,536,000 after purchasing an additional 126,926 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tronox by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,477,000 after acquiring an additional 281,110 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Tronox by 160.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,018,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,664,000 after purchasing an additional 626,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the fourth quarter worth about $338,000. 73.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Tronox in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Tronox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Tronox from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Tronox from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tronox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.67.

Tronox Stock Performance

Shares of Tronox stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,358,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,599. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.29. Tronox has a 1-year low of $10.08 and a 1-year high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $820.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Tronox will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

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

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.