POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of POSCO (NYSE:PKX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

POSCO Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKX opened at $70.13 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.50 and its 200-day moving average is $85.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. POSCO has a 52 week low of $67.42 and a 52 week high of $133.09.

POSCO (NYSE:PKX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter. POSCO had a return on equity of 3.02% and a net margin of 2.45%. Research analysts forecast that POSCO will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

POSCO Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $0.4726 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. POSCO’s payout ratio is 31.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On POSCO

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKX. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in POSCO by 2.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in POSCO by 3.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in POSCO by 18.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 30,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 4,718 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of POSCO by 17.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,395,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,683,000 after purchasing an additional 210,190 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of POSCO by 58.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares during the period.

POSCO Company Profile

POSCO Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells iron and steel rolled products in South Korea and internationally. It operates in two segments Steel and Others. The company offers hot and cold rolled steel, steel plates, wire rods, galvanized steel, electrical steel, stainless steel, and titanium.