Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 608,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 23,242 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.46% of Olympic Steel worth $19,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Olympic Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Olympic Steel during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Olympic Steel by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 7,517 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Olympic Steel by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Olympic Steel during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $493,000. 87.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Olympic Steel Stock Performance

NASDAQ ZEUS traded down $1.10 on Monday, hitting $29.49. 14,516 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $32.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.45. The firm has a market cap of $329.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.50. Olympic Steel, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.32 and a fifty-two week high of $69.79.

Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $418.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $441.60 million. Olympic Steel had a return on equity of 3.31% and a net margin of 1.18%. On average, research analysts expect that Olympic Steel, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Olympic Steel Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is an increase from Olympic Steel's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Olympic Steel's payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Olympic Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Olympic Steel from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Olympic Steel Profile

Olympic Steel, Inc processes, distributes, and stores metal products primarily in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in three segments: Carbon Flat Products; Specialty Metals Flat Products; and Tubular and Pipe Products. The company offers stainless steel and aluminum coil and sheet products, angles, rounds, and flat bars; alloy, heat treated, and abrasion resistant coils, sheets and plates; coated metals, including galvanized, galvannealed, electro galvanized, advanced high strength steels, aluminized, and automotive grades of steel; commercial quality, advanced high strength steel, drawing steel, and automotive grades cold rolled steel coil and sheet products; hot rolled carbon comprising hot rolled coil, pickled and oiled sheet and plate steel products, automotive grades, advanced high strength steels, and high strength low alloys; tube, pipe, and bar products, including round, square, and rectangular mechanical and structural tubing; hydraulic and stainless tubing; boiler tubing; carbon, stainless, and aluminum pipes; valves and fittings; and tin mill products, such as electrolytic tinplate, electrolytic chromium coated steel, and black plates.