National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply by 34.2% to 8.98 million shares as of August 31, representing about 0.7% of outstanding shares and 5.1 days of average trading volume.
• National Steel shares declined 2.1% to $1.19 during Thursday trading. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.12 per share, in line with estimates, while revenue of $2.18 billion exceeded analyst expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is strongly negative: three analysts rate the stock Sell, with recent downgrades to Sell and Strong Sell and a consensus price target of $1.40.

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,982,742 shares, a drop of 34.2% from the August 15th total of 13,646,452 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,750,158 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

National Steel Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of National Steel stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.19. 8,862,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,846,848. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.17. National Steel has a twelve month low of $0.84 and a twelve month high of $2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.15.

National Steel (NYSE:SID - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.12). National Steel had a negative net margin of 5.26% and a negative return on equity of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Equities research analysts predict that National Steel will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SID shares. Wall Street Zen lowered National Steel from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research lowered National Steel from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of National Steel in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $1.40.

About National Steel

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), historically associated with the “National Steel” name and traded in the United States under the symbol SID, is a Brazilian industrial company headquartered in São Paulo. Founded in 1941, CSN operates one of Brazil's major integrated steelmaking complexes in Volta Redonda, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The company produces flat steel products, including galvanized, tinplate and other coated steels, as well as hot- and cold-rolled steel. Its products serve industries such as automotive manufacturing, construction, packaging, appliances and general industrial production.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.