ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Short Interest Down 27.8% in January

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,369,795 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the January 15th total of 3,281,039 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,863,206 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,863,206 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MT shares. Morgan Stanley raised ArcelorMittal from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut shares of ArcelorMittal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ArcelorMittal from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.98.

Institutional Trading of ArcelorMittal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of ArcelorMittal by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,220,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $146,780,000 after buying an additional 49,614 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 405.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,181,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,706,000 after buying an additional 947,532 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ArcelorMittal in the third quarter worth $41,399,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of ArcelorMittal by 15.6% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 947,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,267,000 after purchasing an additional 128,045 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in shares of ArcelorMittal during the 4th quarter worth about $30,721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.29% of the company’s stock.

ArcelorMittal Stock Performance

MT stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.53. 2,299,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,232. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.66. The company has a market cap of $47.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.52. ArcelorMittal has a 1 year low of $23.19 and a 1 year high of $66.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.30. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 5.14% and a return on equity of 5.27%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ArcelorMittal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. ArcelorMittal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.46%.

ArcelorMittal Company Profile

ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company formed in 2006 through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company is one of the world’s largest producers of steel and operates an integrated value chain that spans raw material extraction, steelmaking, processing and distribution. Its product portfolio includes flat and long carbon steel products, coated and specialty steels, tubular products and value-added solutions tailored for sectors such as automotive, construction, household appliances, energy and packaging.

ArcelorMittal’s operations are global in scope, with production facilities, distribution networks and commercial activities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.