Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Hits New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$61.17 and last traded at C$60.64, with a volume of 247412 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$60.23.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RUS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Russel Metals from C$49.00 to C$58.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD lifted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Russel Metals from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Russel Metals from C$55.00 to C$63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$59.50.

Russel Metals Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$52.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$47.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.50.

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 company had revenue of C$1.42 billion for the quarter. Russel Metals had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Russel Metals

In other Russel Metals news, insider John Gregory Reid sold 28,935 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$58.62, for a total transaction of C$1,696,169.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 306,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$17,946,337.14. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Brian Robie Hedges sold 4,800 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$57.00, for a total value of C$273,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at C$570,000. The trade was a 32.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,435 shares of company stock valued at $2,701,667. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.