Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Minerals Technologies Inc. $MTX

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,833 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,207,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Minerals Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $22,401,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,059,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $695,000. 97.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.00.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

MTX opened at $71.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.44. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.94 and a 52-week high of $84.34.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.04). Minerals Technologies had a positive return on equity of 10.63% and a negative net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $548.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.12%.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces and processes a broad range of mineral-based products and solutions that serve a variety of industrial applications. Its offerings include bentonite, perlite, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mineral sands, foundry additives, performance minerals and specialty chemicals designed to enhance performance in markets such as paper, steel, construction, oil and gas, environmental remediation and consumer products.

The company operates through several business segments, including Specialty Minerals, Refractory Minerals, Performance Materials and Recycled Materials.