ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• ArcelorMittal's short interest fell by 27.9% in August, with 1,940,000 shares sold short as of the end of the month.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in ArcelorMittal, including Bank of America, which raised its holding by 56.7%.
• Wall Street analysts have a mixed outlook, with the average rating currently at "Hold" and a price target of $33.45 for the stock.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,940,000 shares, a decrease of 27.9% from the August 15th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ArcelorMittal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Barclays lowered shares of ArcelorMittal from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of ArcelorMittal to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.45.

ArcelorMittal Price Performance

MT stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.29. The stock had a trading volume of 980,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,352. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. ArcelorMittal has a 52 week low of $21.59 and a 52 week high of $35.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.32.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $15.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.48 billion. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 4.11% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 14,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,496 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 9.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.