Ryerson (NYSE:RYZ) CEO Sells 21,968 Shares of Stock

Ryerson Holding (NYSE:RYZ) CEO Edward Lehner sold 21,968 shares of Ryerson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.22, for a total value of $685,840.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,468,667.12. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ryerson Stock Down 16.2%

Shares of NYSE:RYZ opened at $26.56 on Friday. Ryerson Holding has a 1 year low of $19.34 and a 1 year high of $33.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $26.45 and its 200-day moving average is $26.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -156.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.22. Ryerson had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 0.21%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Ryerson Holding will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryerson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Ryerson’s dividend payout ratio is presently -441.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RYZ. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ryerson from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ryerson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ryerson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ryerson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Ryerson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RYZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ryerson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,378,000. Platinum Equity Advisors LLC DE bought a new stake in Ryerson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,581,404. JB Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Ryerson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,869,242. State Street Corp acquired a new position in Ryerson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,285,000. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Ryerson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,036,000. 94.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryerson Company Profile

Ryerson Holding Corporation is a value-added processor and distributor of industrial metals. The company supplies carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel, and copper products to manufacturers and other industrial customers, offering materials in forms such as sheets, plates, coils, bars, tubes, and structural products.

In addition to distributing metals, Ryerson provides processing and fabrication services designed to prepare materials for customer specifications. These services include cutting, slitting, sawing, forming, machining, and other methods that help customers manage their material requirements and supply chains.

Founded in Chicago in 1842 by Joseph T.