Short Interest in ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) Declines By 21.5%

ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,460,000 shares, a drop of 21.5% from the February 13th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

ArcelorMittal Stock Up 1.4 %

MT traded up $0.46 on Tuesday, reaching $32.50. 1,675,845 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,167. ArcelorMittal has a 52-week low of $20.52 and a 52-week high of $34.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.30.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.09). ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 4.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ArcelorMittal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. ArcelorMittal’s payout ratio is currently 25.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in ArcelorMittal by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in ArcelorMittal in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered ArcelorMittal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated steel and mining companies in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It offers semi-finished flat products, including slabs; finished flat products comprising plates, hot- and cold-rolled coils and sheets, hot-dipped and electro-galvanized coils and sheets, tinplate, and color coated coils and sheets; semi-finished long products, such as blooms and billets; finished long products consisting of bars, wire-rods, structural sections, rails, sheet piles, and wire-products; and seamless and welded pipes and tubes.