National Steel (NYSE:SID) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1.02, but opened at $1.06. National Steel shares last traded at $1.0650, with a volume of 178,219 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SID. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of National Steel in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of National Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National Steel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, National Steel presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $1.40.

National Steel Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $0.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. National Steel had a negative return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 5.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National Steel Company will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of National Steel

A hedge fund recently raised its position in National Steel stock. HRT Financial LP boosted its position in National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) by 175.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 quarter.

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.