Short Interest in POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Decreases By 46.6%

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 634,920 shares, a decline of 46.6% from the January 29th total of 1,189,111 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 160,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 160,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

POSCO Stock Performance

Shares of PKX traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.64. The stock had a trading volume of 223,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,877. POSCO has a fifty-two week low of $40.80 and a fifty-two week high of $71.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.11.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($1.06). POSCO had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.85 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that POSCO will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Xponance LLC grew its position in shares of POSCO by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in POSCO by 4.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in POSCO by 51.6% in 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. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of POSCO by 4.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of POSCO by 5.3% during 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 during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.