Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $75.30 and last traded at $75.4950, with a volume of 4274 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $74.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Minerals Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Zacks Research raised Minerals Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Minerals Technologies from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.81. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -143.86 and a beta of 1.27.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $519.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.83 million. Minerals Technologies had a negative net margin of 0.89% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Minerals Technologies news, insider Brett Argirakis sold 6,501 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.68, for a total transaction of $381,478.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,685.36. The trade was a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 23,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.90, for a total value of $1,429,456.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,349 shares in the company, valued at $5,221,203.10. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTX. CSM Advisors LLC raised its position in Minerals Technologies by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 189,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,569,000 after purchasing an additional 85,641 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Minerals Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 26,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 819,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,973,000 after buying an additional 152,950 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces and processes a broad range of mineral-based products and solutions that serve a variety of industrial applications. Its offerings include bentonite, perlite, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mineral sands, foundry additives, performance minerals and specialty chemicals designed to enhance performance in markets such as paper, steel, construction, oil and gas, environmental remediation and consumer products.

The company operates through several business segments, including Specialty Minerals, Refractory Minerals, Performance Materials and Recycled Materials.