Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered its price target on Stella-Jones to C$82 from C$85, implying only modest upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have also trimmed expectations, with several cutting targets and one downgrading the stock to hold; consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average target of C$94.38.
• Stella-Jones shares fell to C$78.65 on Thursday after trading below average volume, while the company recently reported C$1.12 EPS on C$791 million in revenue for the quarter.

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by Royal Bank Of Canada from C$85.00 to C$82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.26% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SJ. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Stella-Jones from C$100.00 to C$95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Stella-Jones from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on shares of Stella-Jones from C$87.00 to C$82.00 in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Stella-Jones from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from C$107.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Desjardins cut their price target on shares of Stella-Jones from C$107.00 to C$104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stella-Jones presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$94.38.

Stella-Jones Stock Performance

Shares of SJ stock traded down C$0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching C$78.65. 106,099 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,783. The company has a market cap of C$4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of -0.07. The company's 50 day moving average is C$78.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$86.72. Stella-Jones has a 1 year low of C$69.94 and a 1 year high of C$101.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 80.71, a current ratio of 4.96 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$1.12 EPS for the quarter. Stella-Jones had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business had revenue of C$791.00 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stella-Jones will post 6.4457565 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stella-Jones news, Director Kevin Patrick Comerford bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$72.06 per share, for a total transaction of C$36,030.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$445,042.56. The trade was a 8.81% increase in their position. Also, Director Kenner James bought 937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$73.22 per share, with a total value of C$68,607.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,834 shares in the company, valued at C$134,285.48. This represents a 104.46% increase in their position. Insiders have acquired 3,443 shares of company stock worth $247,814 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Stella-Jones Company Profile

Stella-Jones Inc produces and sells lumber and wood products. The company operates in two segments: Pressure-treated wood, which includes utility poles, railway ties, residential lumber, and industrial products; and Logs & Lumber segment comprises of the sales of logs harvested in the course of the company's procurement process that is determined to be unsuitable for use as utility poles, it also includes the sale of excess lumber to local home-building markets. The vast majority of its revenue comes from the Pressure-treated wood segment.

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