Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.50.

MTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTX opened at $73.68 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.78 and its 200 day moving average is $66.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45 and a beta of 1.33. Minerals Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $48.61 and a fifty-two week high of $78.04.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $534.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.55 million. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Minerals Technologies will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Minerals Technologies

In other news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total value of $923,664.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,850,055.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total value of $923,664.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,850,055.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $87,461.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,017.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Minerals Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,267,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,702,000 after purchasing an additional 49,192 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,737,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,159,000 after purchasing an additional 104,982 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 1.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,241,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,999,000 after purchasing an additional 17,742 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 644,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,928,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Minerals Technologies by 10.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 514,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,697,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. 97.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Minerals Technologies

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.