Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) Short Interest Up 19.0% in March

Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 924,300 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 260,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Ternium Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TX traded down $1.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.02. The stock had a trading volume of 264,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,080. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.12. Ternium has a one year low of $28.00 and a one year high of $44.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of -107.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.88.

Ternium (NYSE:TX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($1.39). Ternium had a negative net margin of 0.31% and a positive return on equity of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Ternium will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ternium Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 10.3%. This is a positive change from Ternium’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. Ternium’s payout ratio is currently -1,285.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ternium in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Ternium from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ternium

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TX. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Ternium by 500.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ternium by 249.5% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Ternium in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ternium by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Ternium during the 4th quarter valued at $88,000. 11.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ternium

Ternium SA, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes steel products in Mexico, Southern Region, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Steel, Mining, and Usiminas. The Steel segment offers slabs, hot and cold rolled products, coated products, roll formed and tubular products, bars, billets, and other products.