Short Interest in Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) Grows By 53.9%

Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (NYSE:HCC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,370,000 shares, an increase of 53.9% from the July 31st total of 2,840,000 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 745,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Warrior Met Coal Stock Performance

HCC stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $61.46. The stock had a trading volume of 859,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,540. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.26. Warrior Met Coal has a fifty-two week low of $39.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 6.86 and a quick ratio of 5.85.

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. Warrior Met Coal had a return on equity of 23.27% and a net margin of 25.01%. The firm had revenue of $396.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Warrior Met Coal will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warrior Met Coal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Warrior Met Coal's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.85%.

Insider Activity at Warrior Met Coal

In other news, CEO Walter J. Scheller sold 23,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $1,739,572.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 340,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,587,447.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kelli K. Gant sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.06, for a total value of $750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,629,550.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Walter J. Scheller sold 23,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total transaction of $1,739,572.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 340,485 shares in the company, valued at $25,587,447.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Warrior Met Coal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Warrior Met Coal by 6,177.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 331,551 shares of the company's stock worth $20,811,000 after acquiring an additional 326,269 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 33.8% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 974,247 shares of the company's stock worth $59,137,000 after buying an additional 246,217 shares in the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 68.9% in the second quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 482,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,264,000 after acquiring an additional 196,601 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warrior Met Coal in the first quarter valued at about $9,234,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in Warrior Met Coal during the second quarter worth about $9,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCC. B. Riley lifted their price target on Warrior Met Coal from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Warrior Met Coal in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Warrior Met Coal from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Warrior Met Coal Company Profile

Warrior Met Coal, Inc produces and exports non-thermal metallurgical coal for the steel industry. It operates two underground mines located in Alabama. The company sells its metallurgical coal to a customer base of blast furnace steel producers located primarily in Europe, South America, and Asia. It also sells natural gas, which is extracted as a byproduct from coal production.

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