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

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,379,481 shares, a drop of 45.1% from the July 30th total of 2,514,067 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,219,446 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,232,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $168,008,000 after buying an additional 11,503 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in ArcelorMittal by 54.9% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 776,595 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 405.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,181,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,706,000 after acquiring an additional 947,532 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 947,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,267,000 after purchasing an additional 128,045 shares during the period. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP purchased a new position in shares of ArcelorMittal in the 4th quarter worth about $26,431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ArcelorMittal from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ArcelorMittal from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ArcelorMittal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ArcelorMittal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

ArcelorMittal Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:MT traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 679,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,776. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.59. ArcelorMittal has a twelve month low of $31.93 and a twelve month high of $75.93.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last announced 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). ArcelorMittal had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 2.88%.The company had revenue of $16.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that ArcelorMittal will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

ArcelorMittal Company Profile

ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company formed in 2006 through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company is one of the world’s largest producers of steel and operates an integrated value chain that spans raw material extraction, steelmaking, processing and distribution. Its product portfolio includes flat and long carbon steel products, coated and specialty steels, tubular products and value-added solutions tailored for sectors such as automotive, construction, household appliances, energy and packaging.

ArcelorMittal’s operations are global in scope, with production facilities, distribution networks and commercial activities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.