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ArcelorMittal (MT) Hits New 52-Week High on Bright Prospects

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Shares of ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) scaled a fresh 52-week high of $37.32 on Jan 12, before eventually closing the day at $37.16.

ArcelorMittal has a market cap of roughly $36.8 billion. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months is around 3,610.6K. The company has an expected long-term EPS growth of 13.4%.

Shares of ArcelorMittal have soared 28.2% in the last three months, outperforming the industry’s 23.3% growth.

 



Driving Factors

In November 2017, ArcelorMittal noted that market conditions are favorable and demand environment remains positive along with healthy steel spreads.

Moreover, steel market conditions have improved lately, driven by favorable developments on steel trade cases across the United States and Europe in the recent past, providing reprieve to steel producers including ArcelorMittal.

The overall demand fundamentals for steel also remain healthy. ArcelorMittal also gained from higher steel prices in the third quarter, driven by strong pricing in Europe — the company’s biggest market.

ArcelorMittal remains focused on implementing strategic measures under its Action 2020 plan to drive profitability. The Action 2020 plan is a strategic roadmap for each of the company’s key segments, which targets a structural EBITDA improvement of about $3 billion. Upon full achievement of the plan, the company expects to deliver free cash flow of more than $2 billion annually.

The company also remains on track with its cost-reduction actions under the program. The company also remains highly focused on deleveraging its balance sheet and sustained commitment to cut debt is leading to lower net interest expenses. ArcelorMittal has cut net debt by nearly 45% over the past five years and net debt fell by $0.2 billion year over year in the third quarter of 2017.

Recently, ArcelorMittal received confirmation from Commercial Court of Bordeauxin in relation to its Exosun acquisition. Exosun designs, develops and markets steel solar trackers that entitle photovoltaic panels to follow the path of sun rays, and enhance the performance of ground-mounted solar farms. ArcelorMittal has already forayed in the solar energy market with its steel solar frames which are manufactured in Europe, China and Egypt, and its corrosion along with abrasion-resistant Magnelis steel.

Being part of ArcelorMittal, the new entity will be able to benefit from commercial, industrial and R&D synergies. The company will also leverage its financial strength to allow the entity to serve customers in key solar projects.

Notably, the global photovoltaic energy market is anticipated to grow by 15 installed gigawatts a year from 2017 to 2020 most of which will be in large-scale solar farms.

 

ArcelorMittal Price and Consensus

 

ArcelorMittal Price and Consensus | ArcelorMittal Quote

 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

ArcelorMittal currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) , Daqo New Energy Corp. (DQ - Free Report) and Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8%. Its shares have soared 71.4% over a year.

Daqo New Energy has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 7%. Its shares have rallied a whopping 219.9% over a year.

Kronos Worldwide has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5%. Its shares have surged 115.4% in the last year.

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