Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Metallus in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Metallus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.00.

Metallus Stock Down 1.9%

MTUS opened at $17.38 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.75. Metallus has a 52 week low of $10.78 and a 52 week high of $21.73. The company has a market capitalization of $725.27 million, a P/E ratio of -579.14, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43.

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $267.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.83 million. Metallus had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that Metallus will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Metallus

In other Metallus news, COO Kristopher R. Westbrooks sold 10,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.06, for a total value of $219,295.92. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,792,864.56. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 16,104 shares of company stock worth $328,592 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Metallus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Metallus by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 496,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,514,000 after acquiring an additional 207,227 shares during the period. VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in shares of Metallus in the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Metallus during the fourth quarter worth $1,639,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Metallus during the fourth quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in Metallus in the fourth quarter valued at $306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.58% of the company’s stock.

About Metallus

Metallus, Inc (NYSE:MTUS) is an industrial metals recycling and distribution company that acquires, processes and markets a wide array of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Its product portfolio includes stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum and other specialty metals sourced from manufacturing scrap, obsolete products and post-consumer waste streams. Metallus provides services such as shredding, sorting, melting and baling, enabling its customers to optimize metal recovery and streamline supply chains.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company operates processing facilities and distribution centers across the United States, facilitating efficient logistics and regional collection of metal grades.