POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Shares Up 5.7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• POSCO shares rose 5.7% in mid-day trading Friday, briefly reaching $52.65 before last trading at $52.89, though volume was well below average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with recent upgrades from UBS and Zacks offset by downgrades from Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen; the stock’s consensus rating remains Hold.
• Recent earnings beat expectations, as POSCO reported $1.01 EPS versus the $0.89 estimate and revenue of $11.88 billion, while analysts currently expect full-year EPS of 4.43.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) was up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $52.65 and last traded at $52.89. 102,511 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 279,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded POSCO from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group upgraded POSCO from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of POSCO from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of POSCO from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, POSCO presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

POSCO Stock Up 5.0%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $66.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.98. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.12. POSCO had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The business had revenue of $11.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.75 billion. On average, analysts predict that POSCO will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of POSCO

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in POSCO during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,141,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of POSCO by 156.9% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 22,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in POSCO by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 199,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,637,000 after purchasing an additional 115,069 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of POSCO by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in POSCO by 58.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 37,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 13,851 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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