Algoma Steel Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ASTL)

Algoma Steel Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 10,025 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,591% compared to the typical daily volume of 593 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in Algoma Steel Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 9,758,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,849,000 after purchasing an additional 134,919 shares in the last quarter. MMCAP International Inc. SPC grew its position in Algoma Steel Group by 152.2% during the first quarter. MMCAP International Inc. SPC now owns 7,789,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700,510 shares in the last quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP grew its position in Algoma Steel Group by 100.3% during the first quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 5,007,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508,133 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Algoma Steel Group by 7.2% during the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,217,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,448,000 after purchasing an additional 81,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Algoma Steel Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,663,000. 72.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algoma Steel Group Price Performance

Shares of ASTL stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.30. 185,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 582,899. Algoma Steel Group has a 12 month low of $6.34 and a 12 month high of $10.71. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 4.19.

Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $475.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.32 million. Algoma Steel Group had a negative net margin of 0.72% and a negative return on equity of 1.23%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Algoma Steel Group will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Algoma Steel Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. Algoma Steel Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

About Algoma Steel Group

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.