Wall Street Zen Downgrades Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) to Buy

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Minerals Technologies from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Minerals Technologies in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.00.

Minerals Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTX opened at $77.97 on Friday. Minerals Technologies has a 52 week low of $53.10 and a 52 week high of $84.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.12. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $546.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Minerals Technologies will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Timothy Jordan sold 6,000 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $481,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,279 shares in the company, valued at $102,665.33. This trade represents a 82.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 4,337 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 110,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,995,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 177.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 68,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,333,000 after purchasing an additional 43,604 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

About Minerals Technologies

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.