Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Director Brian Robie Hedges Sells 25,000 Shares

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) Director Brian Robie Hedges sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$81.54, for a total transaction of C$2,038,500.00.

Brian Robie Hedges also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 13th, Brian Robie Hedges acquired 1,000 shares of Russel Metals stock. The shares were bought at an average price of C$80.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$80,480.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, Brian Robie Hedges sold 10,000 shares of Russel Metals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$63.25, for a total transaction of C$632,500.00.
• On Thursday, May 28th, Brian Robie Hedges sold 5,000 shares of Russel Metals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$62.10, for a total value of C$310,500.00.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

RUS opened at C$80.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$66.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. Russel Metals Inc. has a 1-year low of C$39.09 and a 1-year high of C$83.12.

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

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Russel Metals’s payout ratio is 44.13%.

Key Stories Impacting Russel Metals

Here are the key news stories impacting Russel Metals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: TD Securities, Stifel Nicolaus and RBC each reported expectations for further price appreciation in Russel Metals, reinforcing the recent bullish sentiment. TD analyst expects Russel Metals stock to rise Stifel Nicolaus expects Russel Metals stock to rise RBC forecasts strong price appreciation for Russel Metals
• Positive Sentiment: Higher Scotiabank target: Scotiabank raised its price target to C$89.00, implying additional upside from the stock’s recent trading level and providing a significant near-term catalyst. Scotiabank raises Russel Metals price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider transactions were mixed: Director Brian Robie Hedges bought 1,000 shares for approximately C$80,480 on August 13, but this followed the sale of 25,000 shares for approximately C$2.04 million on August 11. The net reduction in his holdings is a cautionary signal, although the new purchase may indicate some continued confidence. Russel Metals insider transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and consensus risk: The reported analyst consensus target of C$61.17 is well below the recent share price, suggesting that some analysts view the stock as fully valued or vulnerable to a pullback. Raymond James also downgraded Russel Metals to Hold, tempering the impact of the more bullish forecasts. Russel Metals consensus price target Raymond James downgrades Russel Metals to Hold

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RUS. National Bank Financial raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD raised their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Russel Metals from C$76.00 to C$89.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$76.89.

Russel Metals Company Profile

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.