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

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$84.11.

Several analysts recently issued reports on RUS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Russel Metals from C$92.00 to C$107.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Scotiabank set a C$113.00 price objective on Russel Metals and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD set a C$94.00 price objective on Russel Metals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Russel Metals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$70.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their target price on Russel Metals from C$75.00 to C$101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

Russel Metals Price Performance

Russel Metals stock opened at C$91.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$81.70 and a 200-day moving average of C$68.02. Russel Metals has a 52-week low of C$39.09 and a 52-week high of C$95.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Russel Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Francis Dinning sold 3,000 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$80.00, for a total transaction of C$240,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,250 shares in the company, valued at C$1,300,000. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Brian Robie Hedges sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$81.54, for a total transaction of C$2,038,500.00. Insiders sold a total of 33,682 shares of company stock worth $2,735,333 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.