Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a decrease of 14.0% from the January 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 903,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Ferroglobe Price Performance

GSM opened at $3.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $618.14 million, a PE ratio of 164.50 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.16. Ferroglobe has a 1 year low of $3.23 and a 1 year high of $6.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $367.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $393.00 million. Ferroglobe had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 6.36%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferroglobe will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.014 dividend. This is a positive change from Ferroglobe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Ferroglobe’s payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GSM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ferroglobe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Institutional Trading of Ferroglobe

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSM. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of Ferroglobe during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferroglobe in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, RPO LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 89.64% of the company’s stock.

Ferroglobe Company Profile

Ferroglobe PLC produces and sells silicon metal, and silicon and manganese-based ferroalloys in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It provides silicone chemicals that are used in a range of applications, including personal care items, construction-related products, health care products, and electronics; and silicon metal for primary and secondary aluminum producers.