Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Metallus Inc. (NYSE:MTUS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $18.50 and last traded at $17.9150, with a volume of 28432 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.25.

The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.11. Metallus had a positive return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 2.12%.The company had revenue of $241.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.90 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MTUS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Metallus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Metallus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Metallus in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Metallus

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTUS. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Metallus by 11.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 140,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Metallus by 8.4% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Metallus by 26.2% during the third quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 184,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,046,000 after buying an additional 38,250 shares during the period. Ballast Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Metallus by 1.4% during the third quarter. Ballast Asset Management LP now owns 289,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,782,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its position in Metallus by 235.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 26,800 shares during the last quarter. 77.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metallus Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.49. The stock has a market cap of $738.48 million, a P/E ratio of -34.64, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.48.

About Metallus

Metallus Inc manufactures and sells alloy steel, and carbon and micro-alloy steel products in the United States and internationally. The company offers special bar quality (SBQ) bars, seamless mechanical tubes, precision steel components, and billets that are used in gears, hubs, axles, crankshafts and motor shafts, oil country drill pipes, bits and collars, bearing races and rolling elements, bushings, fuel injectors, wind energy shafts, anti-friction bearings, artillery and mortar bodies, and other applications.