Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) Upgraded to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) from a "strong sell" to a "hold," and the stock carries a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $24.00 (analyst split: 1 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Metallus missed last-quarter expectations (EPS $(0.18) vs. $0.05 est., revenue $267.3M vs. $290.8M), trades around $19.23 with a market cap ≈ $802M and a negative P/E (-640.72) and slim negative net margin.
• COO Kristopher Westbrooks sold 2,128 shares; insiders own 3.8% of the company while institutional investors hold about 77.58% and several funds recently increased positions.

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Metallus in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Metallus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Metallus in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.00.

Metallus Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MTUS opened at $19.23 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.82. The company has a market cap of $802.38 million, a P/E ratio of -640.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.31. Metallus has a twelve month low of $11.00 and a twelve month high of $21.73.

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $267.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.83 million. Metallus had a positive return on equity of 2.30% and a negative net margin of 0.10%. On average, analysts expect that Metallus will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Metallus

In related news, COO Kristopher R. Westbrooks sold 2,128 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,023,537.28. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Metallus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Metallus by 8.2% during the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Metallus by 15.5% during the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 40,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Metallus by 14.4% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947 shares during the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Metallus by 7.3% during the first quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 220,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 14,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Metallus during the first quarter valued at about $260,000. 77.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metallus Company Profile

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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