Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,977 Shares of Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,977 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Olympic Steel worth $2,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Olympic Steel by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Olympic Steel by 3.3% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Olympic Steel by 2.1% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 14,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Olympic Steel by 5.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Olympic Steel in the first quarter valued at about $61,000. 87.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Olympic Steel Price Performance

Shares of ZEUS opened at $37.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.49 million, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.97 and its 200-day moving average is $53.60. Olympic Steel, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.81 and a fifty-two week high of $73.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Olympic Steel had a net margin of 1.74% and a return on equity of 4.98%. The business had revenue of $526.25 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share.

Olympic Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Olympic Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Olympic Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Olympic Steel Company 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.