Reliance (NYSE:RS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Reliance (NYSE:RS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on RS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Reliance from $287.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Reliance from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $340.00 to $330.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Reliance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $340.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.67.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of RS opened at $322.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.92. Reliance has a twelve month low of $250.07 and a twelve month high of $365.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 4.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $318.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.41.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Reliance had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Reliance has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.70 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Reliance will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Reliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Reliance’s payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total value of $869,394.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,975,794.76. This trade represents a 17.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.50, for a total value of $1,646,851.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,933,353.50. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Reliance by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,715,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $784,503,000 after purchasing an additional 118,009 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Reliance by 27.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,247,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,224,000 after purchasing an additional 484,286 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Reliance by 25.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,708,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,870,000 after buying an additional 343,598 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Reliance by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,142,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,863,000 after buying an additional 51,894 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Reliance by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 938,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $270,349,000 after buying an additional 2,549 shares in the last quarter. 79.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Reliance

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co (NYSE: RS) is a leading metals service center company that distributes and processes a broad array of metal products. The company offers cut-to-length, shearing, blanking, sawing, bending, machining and value-added services for carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium and specialty metal alloys. Its products serve diverse end markets, including energy, infrastructure, general manufacturing, transportation, aerospace and defense.

Founded in 1939 in Los Angeles, Reliance Steel & Aluminum has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.