Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 104,872 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 104,872 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Olympic Steel in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Olympic Steel during the second quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Olympic Steel by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 610,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Olympic Steel by 66.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 41,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Olympic Steel by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 364,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,885,000 after acquiring an additional 15,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Olympic Steel by 64.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 34,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter. 87.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Olympic Steel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZEUS opened at $43.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $492.24 million, a PE ratio of 37.56 and a beta of 1.71. Olympic Steel has a 1 year low of $26.32 and a 1 year high of $45.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Olympic Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Olympic Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

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.