POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of POSCO (NYSE:PKX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 238,267 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 219,705 shares.The stock last traded at $70.43 and had previously closed at $71.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PKX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded POSCO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded POSCO from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upgraded POSCO from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered POSCO from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

POSCO Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.63 and a beta of 1.58.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. POSCO had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 1.35%. As a group, equities analysts expect that POSCO will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in POSCO during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Founders Capital Management increased its stake in POSCO by 100.0% during the third quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in POSCO by 1,276.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in POSCO during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000.

POSCO Company Profile

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.