Short Interest in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Drops By 26.9%

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) saw a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 287,300 shares, a decrease of 26.9% from the January 15th total of 393,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 152,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Minerals Technologies Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MTX traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.35. The stock had a trading volume of 12,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,411. Minerals Technologies has a 1 year low of $69.43 and a 1 year high of $90.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.09 and its 200 day moving average is $76.41.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 11.61%. As a group, analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 8.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 5,669 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 30,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 11,432 shares during the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $4,071,000. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 34,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTX shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Minerals Technologies from $103.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

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.