Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM)

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 8,391 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 265% compared to the average volume of 2,301 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Ferroglobe from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Ferroglobe Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ GSM opened at $5.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $940.90 million, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 2.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.24. Ferroglobe has a 12 month low of $3.95 and a 12 month high of $6.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $375.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.80 million. Ferroglobe had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 5.29%. On average, analysts predict that Ferroglobe will post 0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferroglobe Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were given a $0.013 dividend. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. Ferroglobe’s payout ratio is currently 10.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferroglobe

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GSM. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe during the 3rd quarter valued at $771,000. General American Investors Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ferroglobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,829,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ferroglobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $944,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Ferroglobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in Ferroglobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 89.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC operates in the silicon and specialty metals industry 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, as well as silicon metal for primary and secondary aluminum producers; silicomanganese, which is used as deoxidizing agent in the steel manufacturing process; and ferromanganese that is used as a deoxidizing, desulphurizing, and degassing agent in the removal of nitrogen and other harmful elements from steel.