POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UBS upgraded POSCO from Neutral to Buy, sending the stock to gap up premarket from $71.02 to an open of $77.54 and trading around $76.89 (roughly +8.1%) on about 94,233 shares.
• POSCO missed the most recent quarter, reporting EPS of ($0.61) vs. $0.45 expected and revenue of $10.61 billion vs. $11.85 billion, while the company shows a market cap of $23.22 billion and a reported P/E of 58.07.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—MarketBeat data shows an average rating of Hold (two Buys, one Hold, one Sell), with recent divergent moves such as Zacks cutting to "strong sell" and Weiss moving to "hold."

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $71.02, but opened at $77.54. POSCO shares last traded at $76.8850, with a volume of 94,233 shares traded.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research cut POSCO from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, POSCO currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On POSCO

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of POSCO in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of POSCO by 100.0% in the third quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 600 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of POSCO by 1,276.9% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of POSCO in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000.

POSCO Trading Up 8.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.07, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.44 and a 200-day moving average of $57.96.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($1.06). The company had revenue of $10.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.85 billion. POSCO had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 1.09%. On average, equities research analysts predict that POSCO will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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