Insider Buying: Russel Metals (TSE:RUS) Director Purchases C$80,480.00 in Stock

Russel Metals Inc. (TSE:RUS) Director Brian Robie Hedges bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$80.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$80,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$80,480. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock.

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

• On Tuesday, August 11th, Brian Robie Hedges sold 25,000 shares of Russel Metals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$81.54, for a total transaction of C$2,038,500.00.
• 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 transaction of C$310,500.00.

Russel Metals Stock Performance

TSE RUS opened at C$79.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.88, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.61. Russel Metals Inc. has a 52-week low of C$39.09 and a 52-week high of C$83.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$66.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$56.76.

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

Russel Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Russel Metals’s payout ratio is 44.13%.

Trending Headlines about 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RUS has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered Russel Metals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$70.00 to C$82.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotia increased their price target on Russel Metals from C$54.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD lifted their price objective on Russel Metals from C$68.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five investment 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, Russel Metals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$76.89.

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.