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

Key Points

• ArcelorMittal’s short interest fell 45.1% to 1.38 million shares as of August 14, representing just 0.2% of shares outstanding and 1.1 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: five analysts rate the stock Buy and seven rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $74.80. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and an $82 target.
• The stock recently traded at $74.38, near its 12-month high of $75.93, despite the latest quarterly results missing expectations: EPS was $0.90 versus $1.18 expected, while revenue came in at $16.76 billion versus $17.56 billion projected.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,379,481 shares, a decrease of 45.1% from the July 30th total of 2,514,067 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,219,446 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of ArcelorMittal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in ArcelorMittal during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in ArcelorMittal by 91.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,635 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ArcelorMittal during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ArcelorMittal in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded ArcelorMittal from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ArcelorMittal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.80.

ArcelorMittal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MT traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $74.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,122,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,915. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.23 and a 200-day moving average of $63.50. The company has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.53. ArcelorMittal has a 12-month low of $31.93 and a 12-month high of $75.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.28). ArcelorMittal had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 2.88%.The business had revenue of $16.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that ArcelorMittal will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company formed in 2006 through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company is one of the world's largest producers of steel and operates an integrated value chain that spans raw material extraction, steelmaking, processing and distribution. Its product portfolio includes flat and long carbon steel products, coated and specialty steels, tubular products and value-added solutions tailored for sectors such as automotive, construction, household appliances, energy and packaging.

ArcelorMittal's operations are global in scope, with production facilities, distribution networks and commercial activities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

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