Metallus Inc. $MTUS is Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Azarias Capital reduced its stake in Metallus by 14.6%, selling 82,675 shares and now holds 484,811 shares (1.16% of Metallus), with MTUS representing its 7th largest position worth about $8.32 million.
• Analysts are broadly negative with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.00, and Metallus missed the latest quarter (EPS -$0.18 vs. $0.05 expected; revenue $267.3M vs. $290.8M expected).
• Institutional ownership is high at 77.58%, while insiders have been net sellers recently (including the COO selling 2,128 shares), with insiders owning about 3.8% of the stock.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Metallus Inc. (NYSE:MTUS - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484,811 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,675 shares during the quarter. Metallus makes up 3.6% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 1.16% of Metallus worth $8,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTUS. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Metallus by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Metallus by 8.4% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in Metallus by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 43,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Metallus during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP increased its position in shares of Metallus by 2.0% in the third quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 105,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. 77.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MTUS shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Metallus in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Metallus in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Metallus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Metallus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.00.

Metallus Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE MTUS opened at $17.74 on Friday. Metallus Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.00 and a twelve month high of $21.73. The company has a market capitalization of $740.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -590.97, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.66.

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.23). Metallus had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $267.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.83 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Metallus Inc. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Metallus news, COO Kristopher R. Westbrooks sold 2,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.28, for a total transaction of $45,283.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,023,537.28. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 16,104 shares of company stock worth $328,592 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Metallus

Metallus, Inc NYSE: MTUS is an industrial metals recycling and distribution company that acquires, processes and markets a wide array of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Its product portfolio includes stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum and other specialty metals sourced from manufacturing scrap, obsolete products and post-consumer waste streams. Metallus provides services such as shredding, sorting, melting and baling, enabling its customers to optimize metal recovery and streamline supply chains.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company operates processing facilities and distribution centers across the United States, facilitating efficient logistics and regional collection of metal grades.

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