Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,080,000 shares, a growth of 25.3% from the February 13th total of 1,660,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 983,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferroglobe

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter valued at $552,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Ferroglobe by 165.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 122,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 76,337 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter valued at $592,000. Finally, Lloyd Harbor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter valued at $5,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.64% of the company’s stock.

Ferroglobe Stock Performance

GSM traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 559,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,579. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.12. The company has a market capitalization of $764.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 203.50 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.82. Ferroglobe has a 52-week low of $3.23 and a 52-week high of $6.19.

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

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Ferroglobe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Ferroglobe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Ferroglobe

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.