Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI) shares dropped 5.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $23.55 and last traded at $23.13. Approximately 48,386 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 297,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ryerson Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $728.91 million, a PE ratio of -88.02 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.85.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Ryerson had a negative net margin of 0.19% and a negative return on equity of 0.70%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ryerson Holding Co. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Ryerson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Ryerson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -288.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO James J. Claussen sold 6,017 shares of Ryerson stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.30, for a total value of $152,230.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,773 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,956.90. The trade was a 9.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward J. Lehner sold 10,000 shares of Ryerson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 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.

Institutional Trading of Ryerson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Ryerson by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 52,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 9,040 shares in the last quarter. Towle & Co. lifted its stake in Ryerson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 554,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,271,000 after acquiring an additional 17,925 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ryerson by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 57,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 18,748 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Ryerson by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 704,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,039,000 after acquiring an additional 49,905 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ryerson by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 542,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,040,000 after acquiring an additional 62,092 shares during the period. 94.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.