Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys New Position in POSCO $PKX

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has invested approximately $7.81 million in POSCO by acquiring 164,409 shares of the company in the first quarter.
• POSCO's stock has seen a 2.1% decline recently, with a current opening price at $51.71 and a market capitalization of $15.69 billion.
• Analysts have mixed views on POSCO, with one rating it a Buy and others moving it to a Hold, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 164,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,814,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned about 0.05% of POSCO at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PKX. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in POSCO in the 4th quarter valued at $433,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in POSCO by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in POSCO by 157.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 429,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,613,000 after buying an additional 262,257 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in POSCO by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 254,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,023,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in POSCO in the 4th quarter valued at $949,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PKX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of POSCO from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of POSCO from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of POSCO from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, POSCO currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

POSCO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKX traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.25. 292,083 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,281. The stock has a market cap of $15.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.27, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. POSCO has a twelve month low of $39.40 and a twelve month high of $74.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.78.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.17). POSCO had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 0.69%.The firm had revenue of $12.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.21 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that POSCO will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

POSCO Company Profile

POSCO Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated steel producer in Korea and internationally. It operates through six segments: Steel, Trading, Construction, Logistics and Others, Green Materials and Energy, and Others. The company engages in the production, import, sale, and export of steel products, such as hot and cold rolled steel, stainless steel, plates, wire rods, and silicon steel sheets, as well as pig iron, billets, blooms, and slabs; trading of steel and raw materials, textiles, agricultural commodities, and other goods; natural resources development and power generation activities; and planning, designing, and construction of industrial plants, civil engineering projects, and commercial and residential buildings.