Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average of $77.17

Stella-Jones Inc. (TSE:SJ) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$77.17 and traded as high as C$80.84. Stella-Jones shares last traded at C$80.00, with a volume of 107,751 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Stella-Jones from C$85.00 to C$86.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Stella-Jones from C$96.00 to C$94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Stella-Jones from C$89.00 to C$86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Stella-Jones from C$91.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Desjardins dropped their price objective on Stella-Jones from C$94.00 to C$92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stella-Jones presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$88.71.

Stella-Jones Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.46, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 5.07. The stock has a market cap of C$4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$78.09 and its 200 day moving average is C$77.28.

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported C$0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.90 by C$0.08. The business had revenue of C$688.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$722.50 million. Stella-Jones had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 9.82%. Equities analysts expect that Stella-Jones Inc. will post 5.7146953 earnings per share for the current year.

Stella-Jones Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Stella-Jones’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Stella-Jones’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Stella-Jones news, Senior Officer Richard Cuddihy bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$72.45 per share, with a total value of C$36,225.00. In other news, Director Kevin Patrick Comerford acquired 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$53.39 per share, with a total value of C$69,407.00. Also, Senior Officer Richard Cuddihy bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$72.45 per share, for a total transaction of C$36,225.00. Insiders have purchased a total of 3,800 shares of company stock worth $251,922 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Stella-Jones Company Profile

Stella-Jones Inc produces and sells pressure-treated wood products in Canada and the United States. It operates through two segments, Pressure-Treated Wood; and Logs and Lumber. The company offers railway ties and timbers for short line and commercial railroad operators; and wood utility poles for electrical utilities and telecommunication companies.