National Steel (NYSE:SID) Trading 4.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID)’s share price traded up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1.08 and last traded at $1.0850. 862,583 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,482,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

National Steel Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -3.27 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $0.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.21.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that National Steel Company will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Steel

An institutional investor recently raised its position in National Steel stock. HRT Financial LP increased its position in shares of National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) by 175.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

About National Steel

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.