Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$84.11.

RUS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded Russel Metals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from C$70.00 to C$82.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank set a C$113.00 price objective on Russel Metals and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Russel Metals from C$64.00 to C$85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Russel Metals from C$92.00 to C$107.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, TD set a C$94.00 target price on Russel Metals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st.

Russel Metals Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Russel Metals stock opened at C$91.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$81.70 and a 200-day moving average of C$68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.95. Russel Metals has a 1-year low of C$39.09 and a 1-year high of C$95.97.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Russel Metals had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 4.04%. The business had revenue of C$1.66 billion for the quarter.

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Francis Dinning sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$80.00, for a total value of C$240,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,300,000. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Brian Robie Hedges acquired 1,000 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$80.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$80,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at C$80,480. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,682 shares of company stock worth $2,735,333. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

About Russel Metals

Russel Metals is one of the largest metals distribution companies in North America with a growing focus on value-added processing. It carries on business in three segments: metals service centers, energy field stores and steel distributors. Its network of metals service centers carries an extensive line of metal products in a wide range of sizes, shapes and specifications, including carbon hot rolled and cold finished steel, pipe and tubular products, stainless steel, aluminum and other non-ferrous specialty metals.