ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 3,618 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 222% compared to the typical volume of 1,123 put options.

ArcelorMittal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MT opened at $67.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.55. ArcelorMittal has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $79.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.29.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.28). ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 4.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ArcelorMittal will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ArcelorMittal from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded ArcelorMittal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ArcelorMittal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in ArcelorMittal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,232,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,503 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,190,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,934,000 after purchasing an additional 776,595 shares during the last quarter. Senator Investment Group LP bought a new position in shares of ArcelorMittal during the 4th quarter valued at $26,431,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 4,457.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 367,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 359,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 335,931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,461,000 after purchasing an additional 35,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.29% of the company’s stock.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is a global steel and mining company headquartered in Luxembourg. The company produces a broad range of steel products, including flat steel, long steel, tubular products and specialty grades used in automotive manufacturing, construction, appliances, energy, packaging and other industrial applications.

Its operations span major steel-producing and consuming regions, including Europe, North and South America, and Africa. In addition to steelmaking and processing, ArcelorMittal owns and operates mining assets that supply iron ore for its production activities.