StockNews.com Lowers Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ryerson from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Ryerson Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE RYI traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.84. 670,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,101. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.33 million, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.69. Ryerson has a 12-month low of $22.32 and a 12-month high of $44.70.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Ryerson had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 10.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.65) EPS.

Ryerson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.188 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Ryerson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insider Activity at Ryerson

In other news, COO Michael Burbach purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $95,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,373,746.25. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Alagu Sundarrajan sold 7,407 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total transaction of $242,727.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,533.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Burbach purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $95,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 226,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,373,746.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ryerson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RYI. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Ryerson in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ryerson by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Ryerson by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ryerson during the 3rd quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ryerson during the third quarter worth $234,000. 94.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ryerson

Ryerson Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, processes and distributes industrial metals in the United States and internationally. It offers a line of products in carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steels, and aluminum, as well as nickel and red metals in various shapes and forms, including coils, sheets, rounds, hexagons, square and flat bars, plates, structural, and tubing.