The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 13, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Maxim Sytchev has lowered his recommendation for Russel Metals to "sector perform" from "outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Sytchev views Russel Metals' fourth quarter results as "solid" but notes "few catalysts ahead as the hot rolled coil rally is already priced in." Mr. Sytchev gave his share target a $2 boost to $56. Analysts on average target the shares at $52.38. Mr. Sytchev says in a note: "Russel Metals' management is executing admirably well; buying back stock when it matters, doing accretive M&A, investing in value-add projects, etc. From a trading perspective, however, our 2026 and 2027 EBITDA projections are essentially the same as the actuals in 2023 when HRC spiked. Russel Metals' share price is inextricably linked to commodity movements as organic volume growth has been in the low-single digits; with a 30-per-cent-plus move up off early November, 2025, lows, we believe the risk/reward now is more balanced. Note also that over the last three years, we have pronounced HRC moves up into the spring only to be deflated as the year progresses. History does not repeat itself exactly, but it certainly rhymes."