Traders Purchase Large Volume of Tronox Call Options (NYSE:TROX)

Tronox Holdings PLC (NYSE:TROX) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 10,066 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 278% compared to the average volume of 2,664 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TROX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Tronox in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Tronox in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Tronox from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Tronox from $3.90 to $3.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Tronox from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.92.

Tronox Stock Up 22.3%

TROX stock traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.59. 16,339,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,336,749. The company has a market cap of $726.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 2.72. Tronox has a 1-year low of $2.86 and a 1-year high of $11.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.42.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $699.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.21 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 11.39% and a negative return on equity of 8.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Tronox will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.76%.

Institutional Trading of Tronox

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Tronox during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tronox in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Tronox by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Tronox during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Tronox during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. 73.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.