Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) Shares Down 5.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Metallus Inc. (NYSE:MTUS) saw its stock price decrease by 5.6% on Monday, falling from a previous close of $15.57 to $14.70 with significantly reduced trading volume.
• Despite recent trading declines, brokerage firms have shown mixed sentiment, with Sidoti upgrading Metallus to a "hold" and Northcoast Research initiating a "buy" rating with a price target of $24.00.
• Insider selling activity included EVP Kristine C. Syrvalin and COO Kristopher R. Westbrooks selling a combined total of 11,500 shares, indicating potential caution among top executives.

Metallus Inc. (NYSE:MTUS - Get Free Report) shares dropped 5.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $14.53 and last traded at $14.70. Approximately 77,606 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 376,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTUS has been the subject of several research reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of Metallus to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Metallus in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Metallus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

Metallus Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.34. The firm has a market cap of $654.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42.

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.04. Metallus had a positive return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $304.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $297.83 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Metallus Inc. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Kristopher R. Westbrooks sold 4,000 shares of Metallus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $72,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 193,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,475,368. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Nicholas A. Yacobozzi sold 21,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $395,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 48,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,002. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,974 shares of company stock worth $786,532. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metallus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Metallus by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,610 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Metallus during the 4th quarter worth $3,590,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Metallus in the fourth quarter valued at about $181,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Metallus by 2,679.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,157 shares of the company's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 24,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Metallus by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,045 shares of the company's stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 50,543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.58% of the company's stock.

Metallus Company Profile

Metallus Inc manufactures and sells alloy steel, and carbon and micro-alloy steel products in the United States and internationally. The company offers special bar quality (SBQ) bars, seamless mechanical tubes, precision steel components, and billets that are used in gears, hubs, axles, crankshafts and motor shafts, oil country drill pipes, bits and collars, bearing races and rolling elements, bushings, fuel injectors, wind energy shafts, anti-friction bearings, artillery and mortar bodies, and other applications.