ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) to Issue $0.38 Annual Dividend

ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT – Get Rating) announced an annual dividend on Friday, March 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, June 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th.

ArcelorMittal has a payout ratio of 7.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ArcelorMittal to earn $5.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.38 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.6%.

ArcelorMittal Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MT traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,115,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,562,217. ArcelorMittal has a 1-year low of $19.25 and a 1-year high of $34.59. The stock has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a PE ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on ArcelorMittal from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Bank of America downgraded ArcelorMittal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ArcelorMittal from €24.50 ($26.06) to €23.00 ($24.47) and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. UBS Group cut ArcelorMittal from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded ArcelorMittal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MT. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of ArcelorMittal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of ArcelorMittal in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of ArcelorMittal by 166.1% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ArcelorMittal by 199.0% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in ArcelorMittal during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

ArcelorMittal Company Profile

ArcelorMittal SA is a holding company, which engages in steelmaking and mining activities. It operates through the following business segments: NAFTA; Brazil; Europe; Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States (ACIS), Mining, and Others. The NAFTA segment consists of flat products such as slabs, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, coated steel, and plate.