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

Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 8,391 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 265% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,301 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferroglobe

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ferroglobe by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 5,195,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,017,000 after acquiring an additional 840,629 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,730,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferroglobe by 253.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 413,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 296,662 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $944,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferroglobe during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.64% of the company’s stock.

Ferroglobe Price Performance

Shares of GSM opened at $5.02 on Wednesday. Ferroglobe has a twelve month low of $3.95 and a twelve month high of $6.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $940.90 million, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 2.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.05. Ferroglobe had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $375.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.80 million. Research analysts anticipate that Ferroglobe will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferroglobe Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ferroglobe Company Profile

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.