Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX – Get Rating)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $72.65, but opened at $64.10. Minerals Technologies shares last traded at $63.04, with a volume of 13,779 shares changing hands.
The basic materials company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.52). Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 11.46%. The business had revenue of $507.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.83 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Minerals Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 16th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 15th. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.62%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Minerals Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Sidoti lowered Minerals Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Minerals Technologies from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Minerals Technologies news, SVP Thomas J. Meek sold 16,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.52, for a total value of $1,050,023.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 83,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,242,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Minerals Technologies news, SVP Thomas J. Meek sold 16,795 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.52, for a total value of $1,050,023.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 83,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,242,427.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brett Argirakis sold 927 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $55,647.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $942,110.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 1.0% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 23,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 53.2% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 4.9% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 96.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Minerals Technologies Stock Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.87 and a 200-day moving average of $59.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.
Minerals Technologies Company Profile
Minerals Technologies, Inc is a resource and technology-based company. It develops, produces, and markets a range of mineral, mineral-based, and synthetic mineral products. It operates through the following four segments: Performance Materials, Specialty Minerals, Refractories and Energy Services. The Performance Materials segment supplies bentonite and bentonite-related products, chromite and leonardite.