POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Short Interest Update

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 638,940 shares, a decrease of 45.7% from the May 31st total of 1,177,138 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 473,238 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of POSCO from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of POSCO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered POSCO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded POSCO from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

POSCO Stock Performance

NYSE PKX opened at $53.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57 and a beta of 1.52. POSCO has a twelve month low of $44.99 and a twelve month high of $92.40.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $11.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.75 billion. POSCO had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Equities analysts anticipate that POSCO will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of POSCO

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in POSCO in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Founders Capital Management grew its stake in shares of POSCO by 100.0% in the third quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of POSCO by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of POSCO by 1,276.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in POSCO during the 4th quarter worth about $85,000.

About POSCO

POSCO (NYSE: PKX) is a South Korea–based integrated steel producer founded in 1968 as Pohang Iron and Steel Company. Headquartered in Pohang, the company grew rapidly as part of South Korea’s industrialization program and developed large, integrated steelworks—most notably in Pohang and Gwangyang—that helped establish POSCO among the world’s largest steelmakers. It is structured as a diversified industrial group with steelmaking at its core and a range of downstream and trading businesses.

The company’s primary activities include ironmaking and steelmaking, producing a wide array of steel products such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, coated steels, plates, stainless and special steels, long products (bars and wire rods), and seamless pipes.