Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Russel Metals shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching C$92.06 and closing near C$91.87, compared with a 200-day average of C$66.47.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with five Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. However, the consensus price target is C$81.22, below the current share price, despite several analysts recently raising their targets.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of C$1.63 on C$1.66 billion in revenue and maintains a quarterly dividend of C$0.44, equivalent to a 1.9% yield. Insiders have sold 33,682 shares worth about C$2.74 million over the past 90 days.

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$66.47 and traded as high as C$92.06. Russel Metals shares last traded at C$91.87, with a volume of 140,673 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RUS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Russel Metals from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from C$70.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Russel Metals from C$89.00 to C$113.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Russel Metals from C$64.00 to C$85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$92.00 to C$107.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, TD set a C$94.00 target price on shares of Russel Metals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$81.22.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$80.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$66.47.

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

Russel Metals Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Russel Metals

In related news, Director James Francis Dinning sold 3,000 shares of Russel Metals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$80.00, for a total value of C$240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,300,000. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Martin Leb Juravsky sold 5,682 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 6,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$536,589.60. The trade was a 45.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,682 shares of company stock valued at $2,735,333. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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