Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) Short Interest Up 61.7% in December

Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 372,936 shares, an increase of 61.7% from the November 30th total of 230,605 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 104,872 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 104,872 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Olympic Steel Stock Up 0.5%

ZEUS stock opened at $44.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.42 million, a PE ratio of 38.27 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.21 and a 200-day moving average of $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 3.12. Olympic Steel has a one year low of $26.32 and a one year high of $45.40.

Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $490.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.20 million. Olympic Steel had a return on equity of 2.11% and a net margin of 0.73%. As a group, analysts expect that Olympic Steel will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Olympic Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Olympic Steel’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olympic Steel by 823.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Olympic Steel during the third quarter worth $27,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Olympic Steel during the third quarter worth $58,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Olympic Steel by 41.2% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Olympic Steel during the third quarter worth $142,000. 87.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Olympic Steel in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Olympic Steel Company Profile

Olympic Steel, Inc is a leading metals service center headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in the distribution of carbon, stainless, aluminum and alloy sheet, plate, bar, tubing, and piping products. The company offers a broad range of metals in various grades, sizes and dimensions, serving customers across a variety of industries. Olympic Steel operates as a one‐stop source for metals procurement, providing both standard inventory offerings and custom‐cut pieces to meet specific customer requirements.

Through its network of service centers in the United States and Mexico, Olympic Steel provides a suite of value‐added processing services, including precision laser and plasma cutting, shearing, slitting, shearing, forming, plate burning, leveling and robotic welding.