Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$59.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Russel Metals from C$52.00 to C$54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Russel Metals from C$51.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities raised their price target on Russel Metals from C$50.00 to C$57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD raised their price target on Russel Metals from C$63.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Russel Metals from C$60.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Russel Metals

In other Russel Metals news, Director Brian Robie Hedges sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$57.00, for a total transaction of C$570,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,710,000. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider John Gregory Reid sold 28,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$58.62, for a total value of C$1,696,169.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 306,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$17,946,337.14. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 43,935 shares of company stock valued at $2,551,192 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

TSE RUS opened at C$59.60 on Friday. Russel Metals has a 1-year low of C$39.09 and a 1-year high of C$59.61. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$51.41 and a 200 day moving average price of C$47.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.50, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported C$1.30 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$1.42 billion during the quarter. Russel Metals had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.04%.

Russel Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.31%.

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.