POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares crossed above its 200-day moving average (200-day MA $55.84), trading as high as $57.51 and last at $56.52 on volume of 156,645 shares.
• POSCO missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of ($0.61) vs. $0.45 expected and revenue of $10.61B vs. $11.85B, leaving net margin at 0.97% and ROE at 1.09% despite a $17.1B market cap and a PE of 42.82.
• Analyst and institutional signals are mixed: Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" and the consensus is an average "Hold" (1 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell), while several large institutions (State Street, Goldman, UBS, etc.) have recently increased their positions.

Shares of POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $55.84 and traded as high as $57.51. POSCO shares last traded at $56.5210, with a volume of 156,645 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of POSCO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, POSCO currently has an average rating of "Hold".

POSCO Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 42.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.84.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($1.06). POSCO had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 1.09%. The company had revenue of $10.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.85 billion. Research analysts predict that POSCO will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of POSCO

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKX. State Street Corp increased its stake in POSCO by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 850,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,251,000 after purchasing an additional 41,381 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of POSCO by 14.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 549,699 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,051,000 after buying an additional 68,104 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of POSCO by 57.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 423,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,117,000 after buying an additional 154,100 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of POSCO by 8.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,577,000 after acquiring an additional 19,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of POSCO by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 199,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,637,000 after acquiring an additional 115,069 shares in the last quarter.

POSCO Company Profile

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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