POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $61.30 and last traded at $61.22, with a volume of 1771 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of POSCO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

POSCO Trading Up 2.3%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 82.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.49.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. POSCO had a return on equity of 0.74% and a net margin of 0.64%.The company had revenue of $12.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.41 billion. Equities analysts forecast that POSCO will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On POSCO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Founders Capital Management boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in POSCO by 51.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in POSCO in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of POSCO during the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000.

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.