ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Short Interest Up 70.7% in December

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,928,345 shares, a growth of 70.7% from the November 30th total of 1,715,465 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,504,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,504,272 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MT. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “cautious” rating and set a $39.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ArcelorMittal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ArcelorMittal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.98.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,171,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,647,000 after purchasing an additional 55,549 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in ArcelorMittal by 405.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,181,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,706,000 after purchasing an additional 947,532 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ArcelorMittal in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,399,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 15.6% during 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 buying an additional 128,045 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,671,000 after buying an additional 68,505 shares during the period. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ArcelorMittal Stock Performance

ArcelorMittal stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,089,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,551. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.58. ArcelorMittal has a 12-month low of $21.59 and a 12-month high of $46.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.60 and its 200-day moving average is $36.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $15.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 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.