Analysts Set Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) Price Target at $65.00

Shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Minerals Technologies Trading Up 1.2 %

Minerals Technologies stock opened at $77.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.11 and its 200-day moving average is $78.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.46. Minerals Technologies has a 1 year low of $49.50 and a 1 year high of $90.29. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.30.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 11.46%. The company had revenue of $541.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Minerals Technologies will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Minerals Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.84%.

Institutional Trading of Minerals Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Minerals Technologies by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 18,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 5,942 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Minerals Technologies by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in Minerals Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $455,000. 97.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.