Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) Trading Down 6.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI) shares traded down 6.6% during trading on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $23.07 and last traded at $23.14. 43,705 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 220,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.78.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ryerson from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Burbach acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $95,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 226,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,373,746.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael Burbach purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $95,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 226,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,373,746.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alagu Sundarrajan sold 7,407 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total transaction of $242,727.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,533.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryerson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ryerson by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,258,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,318,000 after buying an additional 79,139 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ryerson by 28.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,233,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,961,000 after buying an additional 496,913 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ryerson by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,262,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,793,000 after acquiring an additional 164,447 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ryerson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $23,522,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Ryerson by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 586,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,053,000 after purchasing an additional 189,517 shares during the period. 94.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryerson Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $784.23 million, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.54 and its 200-day moving average is $31.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Ryerson had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 1.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.65) earnings per share.

Ryerson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.188 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Ryerson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

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.