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

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) shares gapped up before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

National Steel Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.22. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.57.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12). National Steel had a negative net margin of 5.26% and a negative return on equity of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that National Steel Company will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Steel

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in National Steel stock. HRT Financial LP boosted its holdings in National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) by 175.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 359,335 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP’s holdings in National Steel were worth $902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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.