Private Capital Management LLC Sells 40,559 Shares of Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX)

Private Capital Management LLC cut its position in Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX) by 3.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,172,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,559 shares during the period. Tronox accounts for approximately 3.7% of Private Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Tronox were worth $20,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Tronox by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Tronox by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 46,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Tronox during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Tronox by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Tronox by 7.0% in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Tronox from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Tronox in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Tronox from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Tronox from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.33.

Tronox Stock Performance

NYSE TROX traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $13.97. 539,913 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,171,202. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.98. Tronox Holdings plc has a 1-year low of $10.08 and a 1-year high of $20.70.

Tronox (NYSE:TROX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.04 million. Tronox had a negative net margin of 2.14% and a negative return on equity of 3.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Tronox Holdings plc will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Tronox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. Tronox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.42%.

Tronox 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.