Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,099,367 shares, a growth of 33.5% from the February 26th total of 3,069,624 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,194,440 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GSM shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ferroglobe in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Ferroglobe from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ferroglobe from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.00.

Insider Activity at Ferroglobe

In related news, Director De Fuentes Silvia Villar-Mir acquired 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,360.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 121,226 shares in the company, valued at $467,932.36. This trade represents a 27.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Madrid Javier Lopez acquired 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,360.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 147,200 shares in the company, valued at $568,192. This represents a 21.45% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 13.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferroglobe

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Ferroglobe in the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ferroglobe by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 299,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 47,127 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 817,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 79,950 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 3,798,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,626,000 after acquiring an additional 560,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP purchased a new position in Ferroglobe in the 4th quarter worth approximately $858,000. Institutional investors own 89.64% of the company’s stock.

Ferroglobe Trading Down 3.3%

Ferroglobe stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,543,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,189. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.68. Ferroglobe has a 52 week low of $2.97 and a 52 week high of $5.74. The stock has a market cap of $776.38 million, a PE ratio of -4.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $329.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. Ferroglobe had a negative return on equity of 8.65% and a negative net margin of 12.78%. Analysts forecast that Ferroglobe will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Ferroglobe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Ferroglobe’s payout ratio is currently -6.52%.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC is a leading producer of specialty metals and alloys, serving a diverse range of industrial customers worldwide. The company’s core operations focus on the manufacture of silicon metal, silicon-based alloys, manganese-based alloys and rare earth alloys, which are essential inputs for the aluminum, steel, chemical and electronics industries. Ferroglobe’s product portfolio includes high-purity silicon, ferrosilicon, silicon manganese, manganese alloys and various recarburizers used to enhance metal strength, durability and conductivity.

With production facilities located across North America, Europe, South America and Africa, Ferroglobe maintains a global footprint that allows it to supply customers on multiple continents.