Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) Trading 8.4% Higher

Shares of Stella-Jones Inc. (TSE:SJ) rose 8.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$81.00 and last traded at C$78.78. Approximately 114,493 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 139,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$72.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Stella-Jones from C$96.00 to C$94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Stella-Jones from C$87.00 to C$89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Desjardins cut their price objective on shares of Stella-Jones from C$94.00 to C$92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Stella-Jones from C$91.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Stella-Jones from C$89.00 to C$86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$88.71.

Stella-Jones Trading Up 10.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 5.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.46. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$77.75 and its 200 day moving average price is C$78.28.

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported C$0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.90 by C$0.08. The firm had revenue of C$688.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$722.50 million. Stella-Jones had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 9.82%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stella-Jones Inc. will post 5.7169407 earnings per share for the current year.

Stella-Jones Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Stella-Jones’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Stella-Jones’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stella-Jones

In other Stella-Jones news, Director Simon Pelletier bought 2,000 shares of Stella-Jones stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$73.15 per share, with a total value of C$146,290.00. In related news, Director Kevin Patrick Comerford purchased 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$53.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$69,407.00. Also, Director Simon Pelletier acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$73.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$146,290.00. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 3,800 shares of company stock worth $251,922. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Stella-Jones

Stella-Jones Inc produces and sells pressure-treated wood products in Canada and the United States. It operates through two segments, Pressure-Treated Wood; and Logs and Lumber. The company offers railway ties and timbers for short line and commercial railroad operators; and wood utility poles for electrical utilities and telecommunication companies.