Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Short Interest Up 19.0% in May

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 478,500 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the April 30th total of 402,200 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 259,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Minerals Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Minerals Technologies from $92.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Activity at Minerals Technologies

In related news, CFO Erik Aldag bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.37 per share, with a total value of $50,370.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 4,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,820.65. The trade was a 30.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 181.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 536.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 732 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Minerals Technologies during the first quarter worth $70,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Minerals Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Minerals Technologies by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

MTX traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,004. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $56.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Minerals Technologies has a 12 month low of $49.54 and a 12 month high of $90.30.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $491.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $502.03 million. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Minerals Technologies will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Minerals Technologies's payout ratio is currently -57.14%.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.