Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $1.07 Million Holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,861 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MP Materials by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,314,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,956,000 after acquiring an additional 860,960 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 74,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $10,484,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.2 %

MP stock opened at $13.89 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 6.90 and a quick ratio of 6.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.60 and a beta of 2.22. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $20.85.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.50 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on MP Materials from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.11.

MP Materials Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.