Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research cut shares of Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $90.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Up 0.9%

Minerals Technologies stock opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.35 and a beta of 1.12. Minerals Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $53.94 and a fifty-two week high of $84.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.82.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.04). Minerals Technologies had a negative net margin of 3.13% and a positive return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of $548.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Minerals Technologies will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTX. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the second quarter worth $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 36.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Minerals Technologies by 87.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc (NYSE: MTX) is a global specialty minerals and materials company that develops, produces and markets engineered mineral products and related technologies. Its products are used by manufacturers in the paper, packaging, construction, food, pharmaceutical, agriculture, energy and other industrial markets.

The company’s Specialty Minerals businesses produce precipitated calcium carbonate, which is used as a paper filler and coating pigment, as well as mineral-based products for construction materials, automotive components, polymers, paints, coatings, food and other applications.