POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of POSCO (NYSE:PKX) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 279,393 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 253,085 shares.The stock last traded at $54.2750 and had previously closed at $57.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded POSCO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of POSCO from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of POSCO from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of POSCO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, POSCO has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

POSCO Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.97 and its 200-day moving average is $63.11. The firm has a market cap of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance LLC lifted its position in shares of POSCO by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of POSCO by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of POSCO by 51.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of POSCO by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of POSCO by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter.

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.