Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Short Interest Update

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 300,441 shares, a decline of 18.7% from the December 15th total of 369,684 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 223,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 223,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Minerals Technologies stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $67.17. 130,484 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,387. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -3,356.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.56. Minerals Technologies has a 52-week low of $49.54 and a 52-week high of $78.23.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.08. Minerals Technologies had a positive return on equity of 10.69% and a negative net margin of 0.08%.The firm had revenue of $532.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total value of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,685.36. This trade represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 23,093 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total transaction of $1,429,456.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,221,203.10. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 436.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 538,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,632,000 after acquiring an additional 437,734 shares during the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $16,926,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 20.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,284,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,739,000 after purchasing an additional 216,453 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Minerals Technologies by 26.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 496,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 103,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,884,000. Institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Minerals Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

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.