POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Upgraded to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• POSCO's stock rating was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from "sell" to "hold," indicating improved analyst sentiment.
• Morgan Stanley also upgraded POSCO from an "equal weight" to an "overweight" rating, signaling a positive outlook from another major financial analyst.
• Despite these upgrades, POSCO's stock has experienced a 4.9% decline, with recent earnings missing consensus estimates and lower revenues reported.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised shares of POSCO from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 4th.

POSCO Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PKX stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.39. 98,826 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 270,427. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.68, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.14. POSCO has a fifty-two week low of $39.40 and a fifty-two week high of $74.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.17). POSCO had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $12.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.21 billion. Equities analysts expect that POSCO will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of POSCO

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PKX. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of POSCO during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of POSCO during the second quarter worth $66,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of POSCO by 329.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in POSCO by 604.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in POSCO by 938.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 2,392 shares during the period.

About POSCO

POSCO Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated steel producer in Korea and internationally. It operates through six segments: Steel, Trading, Construction, Logistics and Others, Green Materials and Energy, and Others. The company engages in the production, import, sale, and export of steel products, such as hot and cold rolled steel, stainless steel, plates, wire rods, and silicon steel sheets, as well as pig iron, billets, blooms, and slabs; trading of steel and raw materials, textiles, agricultural commodities, and other goods; natural resources development and power generation activities; and planning, designing, and construction of industrial plants, civil engineering projects, and commercial and residential buildings.