Short Interest in POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Decreases By 46.6%

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 634,920 shares, a decrease of 46.6% from the January 29th total of 1,189,111 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 160,237 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 160,237 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of POSCO during the third quarter valued at about $8,851,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in POSCO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,223,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in POSCO by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 423,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,117,000 after purchasing an additional 154,100 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in POSCO by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 199,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,637,000 after purchasing an additional 115,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of POSCO by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 481,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,353,000 after purchasing an additional 78,835 shares in the last quarter.

POSCO Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:PKX traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.64. 223,505 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,877. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.88. POSCO has a 52-week low of $40.80 and a 52-week high of $71.35.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($1.06). The company had revenue of $10.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.85 billion. POSCO had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 0.97%. As a group, analysts forecast that POSCO will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of POSCO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About POSCO

POSCO (NYSE: PKX) is a South Korea–based integrated steel producer founded in 1968 as Pohang Iron and Steel Company. Headquartered in Pohang, the company grew rapidly as part of South Korea’s industrialization program and developed large, integrated steelworks—most notably in Pohang and Gwangyang—that helped establish POSCO among the world’s largest steelmakers. It is structured as a diversified industrial group with steelmaking at its core and a range of downstream and trading businesses.

The company’s primary activities include ironmaking and steelmaking, producing a wide array of steel products such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, coated steels, plates, stainless and special steels, long products (bars and wire rods), and seamless pipes.