Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Russel Metals shares climbed above their 200-day moving average, reaching C$79.25 and last trading at C$77.89, compared with a 200-day average of C$61.14.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with five Buy ratings and three Holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average price target is C$76.89, although recent targets range from C$75 to C$94.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of C$1.63 per share on C$1.66 billion in revenue and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44, yielding about 2.3%. Insiders have been net sellers recently, including a sale of 5,682 shares by an insider.

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$61.14 and traded as high as C$79.25. Russel Metals shares last traded at C$77.89, with a volume of 107,594 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Russel Metals Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88. The company's 50-day moving average is C$72.86 and its 200-day moving average is C$61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.28.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$1.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.66 billion during 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Russel Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Russel Metals

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 transaction, the insider owned 6,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$536,589.60. This represents a 45.99% decrease in their position. Also, Director Brian Robie Hedges purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$80.48 per share, with a total value of C$80,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$80,480. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Insiders have sold 33,682 shares of company stock worth $2,735,333 over the last quarter. 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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