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

Shares of Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$47.21.

Several research firms have weighed in on RUS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Russel Metals from C$55.50 to C$54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Russel Metals from C$52.00 to C$48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Russel Metals from C$46.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Wednesday. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on Russel Metals from C$48.00 to C$47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Russel Metals from C$50.00 to C$48.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

Russel Metals Price Performance

RUS opened at C$39.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$37.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$41.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.43, a current ratio of 4.37 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Russel Metals has a 1 year low of C$33.38 and a 1 year high of C$47.39. The firm has a market cap of C$2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.57.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported C$0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.80 by C$0.02. Russel Metals had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 5.54%. The business had revenue of C$1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.16 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Russel Metals will post 3.5267452 earnings per share for the current year.

Russel Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Russel Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.42%.

Insider Activity at Russel Metals

In related news, Director Stewart Burton acquired 3,000 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of C$36.35 per share, with a total value of C$109,050.00. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Russel Metals Company Profile

Russel Metals Inc operates as a metal distribution and processing company in Canada and the United States. It operates in three segments: Metals Service Centers, Energy Field Stores, and Steel Distribution. The Metal Service Centers segment operates a network of metals service centers, which provide metal products in range of sizes, shapes, and specifications, including carbon hot rolled and cold finished steel, pipe and tubular, stainless steel, aluminum, and other non-ferrous specialty metal products.