Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the February 28th total of 924,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 260,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Ternium Price Performance

Shares of TX traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.02. 264,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 233,080. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of -107.21, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.12. Ternium has a one year low of $28.00 and a one year high of $44.44.

Ternium (NYSE:TX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($1.39). The company had revenue of $3.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Ternium had a negative net margin of 0.31% and a positive return on equity of 1.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ternium will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Ternium Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This is an increase from Ternium’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Ternium’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,285.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ternium

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ternium by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ternium by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,417,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,313,000 after buying an additional 68,366 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ternium by 422.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 174,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,443,000 after acquiring an additional 141,134 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Ternium during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Ternium during the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TX has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ternium in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Ternium from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Ternium Company Profile

Ternium SA, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes steel products in Mexico, Southern Region, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Steel, Mining, and Usiminas. The Steel segment offers slabs, hot and cold rolled products, coated products, roll formed and tubular products, bars, billets, and other products.