POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares rose intraday to $90.81 (up roughly 2–3%) while trading volume was 178,484 shares, down about 15% from the prior session's 211,006 shares.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: POSCO reported $1.01 EPS vs. $0.89 expected and $11.88B in revenue vs. $11.75B, though net margin (1.19%) and ROE (1.35%) remain low.
• Analyst views are mixed: UBS upgraded to Buy, Zacks downgraded to Strong Sell and Weiss moved to Hold, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" (2 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell).

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 178,484 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the previous session's volume of 211,006 shares.The stock last traded at $90.8050 and had previously closed at $88.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PKX. Zacks Research downgraded POSCO from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group raised POSCO from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised POSCO from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, POSCO presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

POSCO Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.01 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.37.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $11.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.75 billion. POSCO had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 1.19%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that POSCO will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On POSCO

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of POSCO by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of POSCO by 4.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of POSCO by 51.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 682 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of POSCO by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,430 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of POSCO by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,636 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period.

About POSCO

POSCO NYSE: PKX is a South Korea–based integrated steel producer founded in 1968 as Pohang Iron and Steel Company. Headquartered in Pohang, the company grew rapidly as part of South Korea's industrialization program and developed large, integrated steelworks—most notably in Pohang and Gwangyang—that helped establish POSCO among the world's largest steelmakers. It is structured as a diversified industrial group with steelmaking at its core and a range of downstream and trading businesses.

The company's primary activities include ironmaking and steelmaking, producing a wide array of steel products such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, coated steels, plates, stainless and special steels, long products (bars and wire rods), and seamless pipes.

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