National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) Stock Short Interest Rises 76.4%

National Steel Company (NYSE:SID) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,347,692 shares, a growth of 76.4% from the September 15th total of 4,164,960 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,711,858 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

National Steel Stock Performance

Shares of National Steel stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.10. The company had a trading volume of 9,719,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,291,804. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -3.25 and a beta of 1.55. National Steel has a one year low of $0.84 and a one year high of $2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.15.

National Steel (NYSE:SID) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12). National Steel had a negative return on equity of 14.90% and a negative net margin of 5.26%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that National Steel will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SID shares. Wall Street Zen cut National Steel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded National Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of National Steel in a report on Monday, September 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Steel currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $1.40.

About National Steel

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, commonly known as CSN or National Steel, is a Brazilian industrial company engaged primarily in the production and sale of steel. Its product portfolio includes flat steel, long steel, galvanized steel and tinplate products, which serve customers in industries such as construction, automotive manufacturing, packaging and general manufacturing.

CSN also operates businesses that support its steel activities, including iron ore mining, cement production and logistics.