ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.72 and last traded at $75.7840, with a volume of 245096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ArcelorMittal in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ArcelorMittal from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ArcelorMittal from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

ArcelorMittal Stock Up 1.2%

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’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.73. The stock has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.55.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $16.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.56 billion. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 4.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that ArcelorMittal will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in ArcelorMittal by 0.4% in the first 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 period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 405.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 947,532 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 15.6% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 947,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,267,000 after acquiring an additional 128,045 shares during the period. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP bought a new position in shares of ArcelorMittal during the fourth quarter worth about $26,431,000. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.