Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) Short Interest Up 25.3% in February

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,080,000 shares, an increase of 25.3% from the February 13th total of 1,660,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 983,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ferroglobe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut Ferroglobe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferroglobe

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSM. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in Ferroglobe by 852.2% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 5,951,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,614,000 after purchasing an additional 5,326,051 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Ferroglobe by 234.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,484,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442,507 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Ferroglobe during the fourth quarter worth $8,363,000. Old West Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ferroglobe by 158.0% during the third quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Harbor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ferroglobe during the fourth quarter worth $5,605,000. 89.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferroglobe Stock Performance

Ferroglobe stock opened at $4.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $764.69 million, a P/E ratio of 203.50 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.86 and a 200-day moving average of $4.12. Ferroglobe has a 52 week low of $3.23 and a 52 week high of $6.19.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $367.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.00 million. Ferroglobe had a return on equity of 6.36% and a net margin of 0.32%. On average, analysts expect that Ferroglobe will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Ferroglobe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Ferroglobe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC produces and sells silicon metal, and silicon and manganese-based ferroalloys in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It provides silicone chemicals that are used in a range of applications, including personal care items, construction-related products, health care products, and electronics; and silicon metal for primary and secondary aluminum producers.