National Steel Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SID)

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 2,585 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 340% compared to the average volume of 588 call options.

National Steel Trading Down 4.9%

SID traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,258,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,827,083. National Steel has a twelve month low of $1.07 and a twelve month high of $2.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.44 and a beta of 1.54.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.13). National Steel had a negative net margin of 3.92% and a negative return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Analysts anticipate that National Steel will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of National Steel

An institutional investor recently raised its position in National Steel stock. HRT Financial LP lifted its position in National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) by 175.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 359,335 shares during the quarter. HRT Financial LP’s holdings in National Steel were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded National Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $1.40.

National Steel Company Profile

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional operates as an integrated steel producer in Brazil and Latin America. It operates through five segments: Steel Industry, Mining, Logistics, Energy, and Cement. The company offers flat steel products, such as hot and cold rolled, galvanized, galvalume, pre-painted, and metal sheets products; coil, sheets, and derivatives; tiles and derivatives, pipes, and profiles; long steel products; steel packaging solutions for the food industry; chemical packaging solution; and carbochemical products.