US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Position in Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI)

US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI) by 150.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,762 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Ryerson were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ryerson in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ryerson by 159.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ryerson in the third quarter worth $207,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ryerson in the third quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ryerson in the fourth quarter worth $339,000. 94.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on 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 Up 3.9 %

NYSE:RYI opened at $23.44 on Friday. Ryerson Holding Co. has a twelve month low of $17.18 and a twelve month high of $34.65. The company has a market cap of $746.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.15 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Ryerson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Ryerson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -288.46%.

Insider Transactions at Ryerson

In other news, CEO Edward J. Lehner sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James J. Claussen sold 6,017 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 58,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,956.90. This represents a 9.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.95% of the company’s stock.

Ryerson 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.