Short Interest in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Rises By 22.0%

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 420,400 shares, an increase of 22.0% from the February 28th total of 344,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 194,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTX. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Minerals Technologies by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,312 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. 97.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Minerals Technologies from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Minerals Technologies stock traded down $3.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $59.49. 56,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,402. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.28. Minerals Technologies has a 1-year low of $57.12 and a 1-year high of $90.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 7.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 8.49%.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.