Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ryerson from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Ryerson Stock Performance

Shares of RYI opened at $20.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $670.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.08 and a beta of 1.64. Ryerson has a 52-week low of $17.18 and a 52-week high of $27.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.42.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.05. Ryerson had a negative net margin of 0.19% and a negative return on equity of 0.70%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Research analysts forecast that Ryerson will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryerson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Ryerson’s payout ratio is -340.91%.

Insider Transactions at Ryerson

In other Ryerson news, CFO James J. Claussen sold 6,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.30, for a total transaction of $152,230.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,773 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,956.90. This trade represents a 9.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward J. Lehner sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $247,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 593,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,706,122.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryerson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ryerson by 167.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 34,604 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ryerson by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 44,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ryerson by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 30,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Ryerson by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 202,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 9,840 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ryerson during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. 94.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ryerson Company Profile

Ryerson Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, processes and distributes industrial metals in the United States and internationally. It offers a line of products in carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steels, and aluminum, as well as nickel and red metals in various shapes and forms, including coils, sheets, rounds, hexagons, square and flat bars, plates, structural, and tubing.