Strong earnings for Russel

Article Excerpt

RUSSEL METALS $23.27 (Toronto symbol RUS; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 59.8 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; Dividend yield: 4.7%) earned $33 million, or $0.55 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2011. That’s up sharply from $9.1 million, or $0.15 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 24.8% to $657.7 million from $526.8 million. Russel benefited from higher sales volumes and steel prices, and its profit margins improved. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.274 a share, for a high 4.7% yield. Russell Metals is still a buy. buy…