ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 44.0% in September

Key Points

• ArcelorMittal’s short interest fell 44% in September to 931,170 shares, representing about 0.1% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.8.
• Institutional investors own 9.29% of the company, with several funds increasing their positions, including Maple Rock Capital Partners, which raised its stake by 54.9%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $74.55 price target, despite the company missing quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 931,170 shares, a drop of 44.0% from the September 15th total of 1,663,191 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,223,024 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of ArcelorMittal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ArcelorMittal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,232,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $168,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,503 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in ArcelorMittal by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,190,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $131,934,000 after purchasing an additional 776,595 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in ArcelorMittal by 4,457.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 367,568 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 359,502 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in ArcelorMittal by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 335,931 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,461,000 after purchasing an additional 35,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amanah Holdings Trust purchased a new position in ArcelorMittal in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.29% of the company's stock.

ArcelorMittal Price Performance

Shares of MT stock traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.63. 1,379,559 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,755,452. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.26. ArcelorMittal has a 1-year low of $36.70 and a 1-year high of $79.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $49.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.54.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $16.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.56 billion. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 4.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that ArcelorMittal will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MT. Weiss Ratings raised ArcelorMittal from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $79.00 price objective on shares of ArcelorMittal and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ArcelorMittal in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ArcelorMittal from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.55.

ArcelorMittal Company Profile

ArcelorMittal is a global steel and mining company headquartered in Luxembourg. The company produces a broad range of steel products, including flat steel, long steel, tubular products and specialty grades used in automotive manufacturing, construction, appliances, energy, packaging and other industrial applications.

Its operations span major steel-producing and consuming regions, including Europe, North and South America, and Africa. In addition to steelmaking and processing, ArcelorMittal owns and operates mining assets that supply iron ore for its production activities.

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