POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Trading 5.7% Higher – What’s Next?

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) was up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $52.65 and last traded at $52.89. 102,511 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 279,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PKX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of POSCO from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen cut POSCO from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. 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 downgraded POSCO from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

POSCO Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.98. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 1.57.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $11.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.75 billion. POSCO had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 1.19%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that POSCO will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in POSCO in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Founders Capital Management grew its stake in shares of 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 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of POSCO by 1,276.9% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in POSCO in 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.