Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Director James Francis Dinning Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) Director James Francis Dinning sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$80.00, for a total transaction of C$240,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,300,000. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position.

James Francis Dinning also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 29th, James Francis Dinning sold 2,500 shares of Russel Metals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.10, for a total transaction of C$155,250.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, James Francis Dinning sold 2,500 shares of Russel Metals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$60.19, for a total value of C$150,475.00.

Russel Metals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of RUS opened at C$79.73 on Friday. Russel Metals Inc. has a 12-month low of C$39.09 and a 12-month high of C$83.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of C$4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$66.68 and its 200 day moving average price is C$56.76.

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

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.13%.

Key Stories Impacting Russel Metals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see further upside: TD Securities raised its price target to C$94 and maintained a Buy rating, while Scotiabank lifted its target to C$89. Stifel Nicolaus also set an C$85 target, supporting the recent bullish outlook. TD analyst expects Russel Metals stock to rise Scotiabank raises Russel Metals price target
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced: Russel Metals declared a C$0.44-per-share quarterly dividend, equivalent to C$1.76 annually and a yield of approximately 2.2%. The dividend may appeal to income-focused investors and signals continued shareholder returns. The ex-dividend date is August 28, with payment scheduled for September 15 to investors of record.
• Neutral Sentiment: One director made a small purchase: Director Brian Robie Hedges bought 1,000 shares at an average C$80.48, indicating some confidence near the current trading range. However, the purchase followed a much larger sale by the same director. Russel Metals director buys shares
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling raises caution: Hedges sold 25,000 shares for approximately C$2.04 million on August 11, while Director James Francis Dinning sold another 3,000 shares for C$240,000 on August 13. The combined sales substantially exceed the recent purchase and may weigh on sentiment, particularly with the stock near its 52-week high. Russel Metals insider transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk remains: Raymond James downgraded the stock to Hold, and the reported consensus target of C$76.89 is below recent trading levels. This suggests the market may already be pricing in much of the expected improvement.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RUS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Russel Metals from C$64.00 to C$85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. National Bank Financial increased 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 note on Monday, August 10th. Scotia raised their price objective on shares of Russel Metals from C$54.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$51.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD lifted their target price on shares of Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to 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.