Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

MTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Minerals Technologies from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Minerals Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.00.

Minerals Technologies Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MTX opened at $72.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -142.84 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $70.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.61. Minerals Technologies has a 52 week low of $49.54 and a 52 week high of $75.29.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $519.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.83 million. Minerals Technologies had a positive return on equity of 10.22% and a negative net margin of 0.89%.Minerals Technologies’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 3.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,324,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,271,000 after acquiring an additional 39,860 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,221,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,444,000 after acquiring an additional 6,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Minerals Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,693 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 819,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,973,000 after purchasing an additional 152,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Minerals Technologies by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 597,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,405,000 after purchasing an additional 15,467 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Minerals Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Minerals Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning ahead of Minerals Technologies’ quarterly earnings due this week — anticipation of sales/earnings beats or favorable guidance is a common near-term catalyst that can lift the stock. Minerals Technologies (MTX) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent published analysis that compares Ashland (ASH) and Minerals Technologies provides fresh market attention and may influence trader flows or analyst commentary, but the piece itself does not constitute company-specific news (it’s informational rather than a change in fundamentals). Analyzing Ashland (NYSE:ASH) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals are mixed: Minerals Technologies slightly missed Q4 EPS estimates (by $0.01), reported a small negative net margin, and shows a negative trailing PE — these factors can limit upside if upcoming results or guidance disappoint.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

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.