Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,335,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,036 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ternium were worth $126,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Ternium by 500.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ternium by 249.5% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Ternium in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ternium by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ternium during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,000. 11.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ternium Price Performance

Shares of TX stock opened at $28.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -101.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Ternium S.A. has a 1-year low of $24.00 and a 1-year high of $43.93.

Ternium (NYSE:TX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4 billion. Ternium had a positive return on equity of 1.82% and a negative net margin of 0.31%. Ternium’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ternium S.A. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ternium Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. This is an increase from Ternium’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Ternium’s payout ratio is presently -202.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Ternium in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ternium from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ternium in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Ternium Company Profile

Ternium SA, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes steel products in Mexico, Southern Region, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Steel, Mining, and Usiminas. The Steel segment offers slabs, hot and cold rolled products, coated products, roll formed and tubular products, bars, billets, and other products.