Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $77.17

Stella-Jones Inc. (TSE:SJ)’s share price passed 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Stella-Jones from C$91.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Stella-Jones from C$87.00 to C$89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. CIBC upped their target price on Stella-Jones from C$85.00 to C$86.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Stella-Jones from C$96.00 to C$94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$88.71.

Stella-Jones Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 5.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.46. The stock has a market cap of C$4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$78.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$77.17.

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) last posted 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. Stella-Jones had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of C$688.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$722.50 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Stella-Jones Inc. will post 5.7146953 EPS for the current year.

Stella-Jones Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Stella-Jones’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Stella-Jones’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stella-Jones news, Director Simon Pelletier acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$73.15 per share, with a total value of C$146,290.00. In related news, Senior Officer Richard Cuddihy purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$72.45 per share, for a total transaction of C$36,225.00. Also, Director Simon Pelletier acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$73.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$146,290.00. Insiders bought a total of 3,800 shares of company stock valued at $251,922 in the last quarter. 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.