Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $35.50 and traded as high as $50.59. Olympic Steel shares last traded at $48.97, with a volume of 119,302 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Olympic Steel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Olympic Steel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Olympic Steel Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $550.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 3.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.60.

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

Olympic Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Olympic Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Insider Activity at Olympic Steel

In related news, COO Andrew S. Greiff sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.42, for a total value of $181,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,767.56. This represents a 27.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 13.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Olympic Steel

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZEUS. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Olympic Steel in the second quarter worth about $284,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Olympic Steel by 4.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Olympic Steel by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 34,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Olympic Steel by 96.2% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 23,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Olympic Steel during the second quarter worth about $5,964,000. 87.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Olympic Steel

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.