Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) Sees Large Volume Increase

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 1,107,205 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session's volume of 1,501,169 shares.The stock last traded at $5.59 and had previously closed at $5.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Ferroglobe from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Ferroglobe Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 2.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $375.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $318.80 million. Ferroglobe had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 5.29%. On average, research analysts predict that Ferroglobe PLC will post 0.26 EPS for the current year.

Ferroglobe Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.013 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Ferroglobe's payout ratio is 10.87%.

Institutional Trading of Ferroglobe

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSM. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Ferroglobe by 96.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 188,581 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 92,757 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 181,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 60,002 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 1,187.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 33,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 31,016 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe in the 1st quarter worth approximately $598,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,691 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.64% of the company's stock.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC operates in the silicon and specialty metals industry 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, as well as silicon metal for primary and secondary aluminum producers; silicomanganese, which is used as deoxidizing agent in the steel manufacturing process; and ferromanganese that is used as a deoxidizing, desulphurizing, and degassing agent in the removal of nitrogen and other harmful elements from steel.