Short Interest in Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Increases By 33.5%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 33.5% in March to 4,099,367 shares (about 2.5% of shares sold short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.4.
• Two insiders — Director De Fuentes Silvia Villar-Mir and Chairman Javier Lopez — each purchased 26,000 shares at $3.86 on March 23, and insiders now own 13.07% of the company.
• Ferroglobe raised its quarterly dividend to $0.015 (annualized $0.06, ~1.4% yield); analysts hold a consensus Hold rating with a $6.00 target following a slight quarterly EPS beat.

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,099,367 shares, a growth of 33.5% from the February 26th total of 3,069,624 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,194,440 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity at Ferroglobe

In other Ferroglobe news, Director De Fuentes Silvia Villar-Mir purchased 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 121,226 shares in the company, valued at $467,932.36. This represents a 27.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Madrid Javier Lopez acquired 26,000 shares of Ferroglobe stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.86 per share, with a total value of $100,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 147,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $568,192. This trade represents a 21.45% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 13.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferroglobe

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSM. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferroglobe by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ferroglobe by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,509 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Ferroglobe by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 14,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Ferroglobe by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 8,334 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Ferroglobe by 66.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. 89.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GSM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ferroglobe in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Ferroglobe Stock Performance

GSM stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.30. The stock had a trading volume of 953,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,648. Ferroglobe has a 52 week low of $2.97 and a 52 week high of $5.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.67 and a beta of 0.93.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $329.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. Ferroglobe had a negative net margin of 12.78% and a negative return on equity of 8.65%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferroglobe will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be given a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Ferroglobe's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Ferroglobe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -6.52%.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC is a leading producer of specialty metals and alloys, serving a diverse range of industrial customers worldwide. The company's core operations focus on the manufacture of silicon metal, silicon-based alloys, manganese-based alloys and rare earth alloys, which are essential inputs for the aluminum, steel, chemical and electronics industries. Ferroglobe's product portfolio includes high-purity silicon, ferrosilicon, silicon manganese, manganese alloys and various recarburizers used to enhance metal strength, durability and conductivity.

With production facilities located across North America, Europe, South America and Africa, Ferroglobe maintains a global footprint that allows it to supply customers on multiple continents.

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