Is Now The Time To Look At Buying Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)?

While Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$72.65 and falling to the lows of US$58.10. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Minerals Technologies' current trading price of US$59.89 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Minerals Technologies’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Minerals Technologies

What's The Opportunity In Minerals Technologies?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 15.9x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 12.83x, which means if you buy Minerals Technologies today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that Minerals Technologies should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Minerals Technologies’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

Can we expect growth from Minerals Technologies?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 67% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Minerals Technologies. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? MTX’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at MTX? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on MTX, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for MTX, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Minerals Technologies as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Minerals Technologies (1 is concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

If you are no longer interested in Minerals Technologies, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.