ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,460,000 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the February 13th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered ArcelorMittal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in ArcelorMittal by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of ArcelorMittal by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ArcelorMittal by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in ArcelorMittal during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ArcelorMittal Stock Performance

ArcelorMittal stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.18. 1,181,661 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,781,977. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.59. ArcelorMittal has a 12 month low of $20.52 and a 12 month high of $34.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.30.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.09). ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 4.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

ArcelorMittal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. ArcelorMittal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.45%.

ArcelorMittal Company Profile

ArcelorMittal SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated steel and mining companies in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It offers semi-finished flat products, including slabs; finished flat products comprising plates, hot- and cold-rolled coils and sheets, hot-dipped and electro-galvanized coils and sheets, tinplate, and color coated coils and sheets; semi-finished long products, such as blooms and billets; finished long products consisting of bars, wire-rods, structural sections, rails, sheet piles, and wire-products; and seamless and welded pipes and tubes.