Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$48.42 and last traded at C$48.27, with a volume of 30515 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$47.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RUS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Russel Metals from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank upgraded Russel Metals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Russel Metals from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Russel Metals has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$51.80.

Russel Metals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$43.52 and its 200-day moving average price is C$42.52.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$1.17 billion during the quarter. Russel Metals had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 4.27%.

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 27th. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio is 58.22%.

Russel Metals Company Profile

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.