Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $2.82 and last traded at $2.7950, with a volume of 326,852 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ferroglobe in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Ferroglobe has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Ferroglobe Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $490.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.13 and a 200 day moving average of $4.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Ferroglobe had a net margin of 2.13% and a negative return on equity of 5.31%. The company had revenue of $369.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferroglobe PLC will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferroglobe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.0150 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. Ferroglobe’s payout ratio is -27.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cos Muntanola Beatriz Garcia sold 32,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.30, for a total value of $138,855.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,693 shares in the company, valued at $136,279.90. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 13.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferroglobe

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferroglobe in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,155,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Ferroglobe during the second quarter worth approximately $25,843,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ferroglobe by 67.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 639,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 256,449 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ferroglobe in the third quarter valued at approximately $530,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Ferroglobe in the second quarter valued at approximately $544,000. 89.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) is a global producer of silicon and manganese-based alloys. The company manufactures silicon metal, ferrosilicon, manganese alloys, calcium silicon and other specialty alloy products used in the production of steel, aluminum, silicones, solar materials and other industrial goods.

Ferroglobe also operates quartz resources and produces related raw materials used in its alloy manufacturing processes. Its products support several industries, including automotive, construction, energy, chemicals, electronics and renewable energy.