Steel Partners (NYSE:SPLP) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Steel Partners Holdings L.P. (NYSE:SPLP - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.00, but opened at $41.45. Steel Partners shares last traded at $41.45, with a volume of 503 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Steel Partners in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating on the stock.

Steel Partners Trading Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $783.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.16.

Steel Partners (NYSE:SPLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The conglomerate reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $497.92 million for the quarter. Steel Partners had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 21.72%.

Steel Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.84%. Steel Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.32%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Partners

In other news, President Jack L. Howard sold 25,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.20, for a total transaction of $617,100.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 62,149 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,005.80. This represents a 29.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 84.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Partners by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,997 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Partners by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 96,864 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Partners by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 13,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Partners during the 1st quarter worth $330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.75% of the company's stock.

Steel Partners Company Profile

Steel Partners Holdings L.P., together with its subsidiaries, engages in industrial products, energy, banking, defense, supply chain management, logistics, and youth sports businesses worldwide. It operates through Diversified Industrial, Energy, Financial Services, and Supply Chain segments. The company fabricates precious metals and alloys into brazing alloys; manufactures and sells seamless stainless steel tubing coils; fasteners, adhesives, and fastening systems for the commercial low slope roofing industry, as well as specialty fasteners for the building products industry; and woven substrates of fiberglass, quartz, carbon, and aramid materials for specialty applications.