Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

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

Ryerson Stock Up 5.5 %

RYI opened at $21.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.44. Ryerson has a 12 month low of $17.18 and a 12 month high of $27.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $668.87 million, a P/E ratio of -80.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryerson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ryerson by 167.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ryerson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 44,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Ryerson by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 30,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ryerson by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 202,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after buying an additional 9,840 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ryerson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. 94.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.