Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$50.94 and last traded at C$50.94, with a volume of 43062 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$50.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Russel Metals from C$48.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Russel Metals from C$47.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Russel Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$49.00 to C$50.50 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Russel Metals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$52.25.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$45.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$42.87. The company has a market cap of C$2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.28.

Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported C$0.63 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.17 billion during the quarter. Russel Metals had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 11.03%.

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 27th. Russel Metals’s dividend payout ratio is 58.22%.

About Russel Metals

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.