Royce & Associates LP Purchases 660,980 Shares of Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Ferroglobe PLC (NASDAQ:GSM) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,387,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 660,980 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.80% of Ferroglobe worth $12,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Ferroglobe by 26.8% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 114,691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 24,245 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Ferroglobe by 234.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,484,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,958,000 after buying an additional 2,442,507 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC increased its holdings in Ferroglobe by 3.8% during the third quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 137,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Ferroglobe by 60.3% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 369,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 139,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferroglobe by 78.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 28,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 12,326 shares during the last quarter. 89.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ferroglobe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Ferroglobe Price Performance

GSM opened at $4.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $759.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.00 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.12. Ferroglobe PLC has a twelve month low of $3.23 and a twelve month high of $6.19.

Ferroglobe (NASDAQ:GSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $367.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.00 million. Ferroglobe had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 6.36%. Equities analysts expect that Ferroglobe PLC will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Ferroglobe Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Ferroglobe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Ferroglobe’s payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

About Ferroglobe

Ferroglobe PLC produces and sells silicon metal, and silicon and manganese-based ferroalloys in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It provides silicone chemicals that are used in a range of applications, including personal care items, construction-related products, health care products, and electronics; and silicon metal for primary and secondary aluminum producers.