Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI) Short Interest Update

Ryerson Holding Co. (NYSE:RYI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the January 31st total of 851,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 248,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James J. Claussen sold 6,017 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,773 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,956.90. This trade represents a 9.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryerson

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ryerson Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RYI traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.37. 252,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,478. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $776.05 million, a PE ratio of -93.71 and a beta of 1.59. Ryerson has a one year low of $17.18 and a one year high of $34.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.52.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ryerson will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryerson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Ryerson’s payout ratio is currently -288.46%.

About Ryerson

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.