Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Russel Metals shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as C$76.74 versus the C$59.93 average, with the latest price at C$76.48.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with five Buy and three Hold ratings. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of C$76.89.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of C$1.63 on C$1.66 billion in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.44 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% annual yield; insiders also sold shares recently.

Shares of Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$59.93 and traded as high as C$76.74. Russel Metals shares last traded at C$76.48, with a volume of 274,281 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on RUS shares. Raymond James Financial cut Russel Metals from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$70.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD boosted their price objective on Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Russel Metals from C$64.00 to C$85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Russel Metals from C$57.00 to C$75.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Russel Metals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$76.89.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$71.09 and a 200-day moving average price of C$59.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88.

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

Russel Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Russel Metals's payout ratio is 44.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Martin Leb Juravsky sold 5,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$80.40, for a total value of C$456,832.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,674 shares in the company, valued at C$536,589.60. This represents a 45.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director James Francis Dinning sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 16,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$1,300,000. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 33,682 shares of company stock valued at $2,735,333 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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