National Steel (NYSE:SID) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) saw strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 11,794,831 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 154% from the previous session’s volume of 4,635,570 shares.The stock last traded at $0.98 and had previously closed at $1.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SID. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of National Steel in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research raised National Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $1.40.

National Steel Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -4.11 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. National Steel had a negative return on equity of 10.69% and a negative net margin of 3.92%. Research analysts anticipate that National Steel Company will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its position in National Steel stock. HRT Financial LP raised its position in National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) by 175.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 564,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 359,335 shares during the quarter. HRT Financial LP’s holdings in National Steel were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

National Steel Company Profile

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional operates as an integrated steel producer in Brazil and Latin America. It operates through five segments: Steel Industry, Mining, Logistics, Energy, and Cement. The company offers flat steel products, such as hot and cold rolled, galvanized, galvalume, pre-painted, and metal sheets products; coil, sheets, and derivatives; tiles and derivatives, pipes, and profiles; long steel products; steel packaging solutions for the food industry; chemical packaging solution; and carbochemical products.