Algoma Steel Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Algoma Steel Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the March 15th total of 2,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Algoma Steel Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASTL. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Algoma Steel Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $390,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Algoma Steel Group by 147.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 15,305 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Algoma Steel Group by 38.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 150,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 41,835 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Algoma Steel Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 357,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 49,642 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Algoma Steel Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,248,000. Institutional investors own 72.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Canada downgraded shares of Algoma Steel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Algoma Steel Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASTL traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.00. The company had a trading volume of 57,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,720. Algoma Steel Group has a fifty-two week low of $4.17 and a fifty-two week high of $12.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.93 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Algoma Steel Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Algoma Steel Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.54%.

Algoma Steel Group Company Profile

Algoma Steel Group Inc produces and sells steel products primarily in North America. The company provides flat/sheet steel products, including temper rolling, cold rolled, hot-rolled pickled and oiled products, floor plate, and cut-to-length products for the automotive industry, hollow structural product manufacturers, and the light manufacturing and transportation industries; and plate steel products that consist of rolled, hot-rolled, and heat-treated for use in the construction or manufacture of railcars, buildings, bridges, off-highway equipment, storage tanks, ships, and military applications.