Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) Trading Up 5.5% Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Insider buying drove the move: Ferroglobe shares jumped about 5.5% after Chairman Madrid Javier Lopez and Director De Fuentes Silvia Villar‑Mir each bought 26,000 shares at $3.86 on March 23, lifting the chairman’s stake ~21% and the director’s ~27%.
• Operational and market outlook: the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS ($0.06) vs. ($0.07) est.; revenue $329.4M) but remains unprofitable with a -12.78% net margin and -8.65% ROE, and analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with an average $6 price target.
• Income and ownership highlights: Ferroglobe raised its quarterly dividend to $0.015 (annualized $0.06, ~1.4% yield), and roughly 89.6% of the stock is held by institutional investors, with several funds recently increasing positions.

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) shot up 5.5% during trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $4.57 and last traded at $4.4320. 257,728 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 1,315,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.20.

Specifically, Chairman Madrid Javier Lopez bought 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.86 per share, with a total value of $100,360.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 147,200 shares in the company, valued at $568,192. This trade represents a 21.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director De Fuentes Silvia Villar-Mir bought 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.86 per share, with a total value of $100,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 121,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $467,932.36. This trade represents a 27.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GSM shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ferroglobe in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ferroglobe from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferroglobe presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.00.

Ferroglobe Stock Up 5.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.67. The stock has a market cap of $827.70 million, a PE ratio of -4.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $329.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. Ferroglobe had a negative net margin of 12.78% and a negative return on equity of 8.65%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferroglobe PLC will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. This is a boost from Ferroglobe's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferroglobe's payout ratio is currently -6.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSM. Hosking Partners LLP increased its stake in Ferroglobe by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 11,215,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,040,000 after buying an additional 341,194 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 19.8% in the second quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 7,811,120 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,610 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,871,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277,344 shares in the last quarter. Grizzlyrock Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferroglobe by 4.3% in the second quarter. Grizzlyrock Capital LLC now owns 4,540,272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,663,000 after acquiring an additional 187,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferroglobe by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 3,798,781 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,626,000 after acquiring an additional 560,867 shares during the last quarter. 89.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC is a leading producer of specialty metals and alloys, serving a diverse range of industrial customers worldwide. The company's core operations focus on the manufacture of silicon metal, silicon-based alloys, manganese-based alloys and rare earth alloys, which are essential inputs for the aluminum, steel, chemical and electronics industries. Ferroglobe's product portfolio includes high-purity silicon, ferrosilicon, silicon manganese, manganese alloys and various recarburizers used to enhance metal strength, durability and conductivity.

With production facilities located across North America, Europe, South America and Africa, Ferroglobe maintains a global footprint that allows it to supply customers on multiple continents.

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