ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $36.20 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ArcelorMittal from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.43.

ArcelorMittal Stock Performance

ArcelorMittal stock opened at $28.81 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.60 and its 200 day moving average is $25.74. ArcelorMittal has a 1-year low of $20.52 and a 1-year high of $34.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.79.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.09). ArcelorMittal had a return on equity of 4.31% and a net margin of 2.14%. Research analysts forecast that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

ArcelorMittal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. ArcelorMittal’s payout ratio is 27.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ArcelorMittal by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in ArcelorMittal by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of ArcelorMittal by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 9,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ArcelorMittal by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the period. 9.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated steel and mining companies in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It offers semi-finished flat products, including slabs; finished flat products comprising plates, hot- and cold-rolled coils and sheets, hot-dipped and electro-galvanized coils and sheets, tinplate, and color coated coils and sheets; semi-finished long products, such as blooms and billets; finished long products consisting of bars, wire-rods, structural sections, rails, sheet piles, and wire-products; and seamless and welded pipes and tubes.