StockNews.com Upgrades Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Minerals Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock.

Minerals Technologies Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of MTX traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.41. The company had a trading volume of 231,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,228. Minerals Technologies has a one year low of $68.29 and a one year high of $90.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 11.61%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Minerals Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Minerals Technologies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,268,792 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $97,989,000 after purchasing an additional 32,196 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Minerals Technologies by 64.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,234,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $95,357,000 after buying an additional 482,674 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 865,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,841,000 after buying an additional 31,616 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 555,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Minerals Technologies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 511,205 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,330,000 after acquiring an additional 7,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.29% of the company's stock.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.