Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Algoma Steel Group Call Options (NASDAQ:ASTL)

Algoma Steel Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 10,249 call options on the company. This is an increase of 308% compared to the typical volume of 2,515 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Algoma Steel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Canada lowered shares of Algoma Steel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Algoma Steel Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algoma Steel Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTL. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Algoma Steel Group by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,844,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,819,000 after buying an additional 1,057,517 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Algoma Steel Group by 276.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,317,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,884,000 after buying an additional 966,976 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Algoma Steel Group during the 4th quarter worth $9,017,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Algoma Steel Group by 1,321,815.2% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 436,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,364,000 after buying an additional 436,199 shares during the period. Finally, Solas Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Algoma Steel Group by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Solas Capital Management LLC now owns 1,460,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,917,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. 72.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algoma Steel Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ASTL opened at $5.88 on Friday. Algoma Steel Group has a fifty-two week low of $4.17 and a fifty-two week high of $12.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.30. The firm has a market cap of $617.01 million, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.36. Algoma Steel Group had a negative return on equity of 10.63% and a negative net margin of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $359.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.56 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Algoma Steel Group will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algoma Steel Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Algoma Steel Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.99%.

About Algoma Steel Group

Algoma Steel Group Inc produces and sells steel products primarily in North America. The company provides flat/sheet steel products, including temper rolling, cold rolled, hot-rolled pickled and oiled products, floor plate, and cut-to-length products for the automotive industry, hollow structural product manufacturers, and the light manufacturing and transportation industries; and plate steel products that consist of rolled, hot-rolled, and heat-treated for use in the construction or manufacture of railcars, buildings, bridges, off-highway equipment, storage tanks, ships, and military applications.