Reliance (NYSE:RS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Reliance (NYSE:RS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Reliance from $287.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Reliance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $340.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Reliance from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $340.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.67.

Reliance Price Performance

RS stock opened at $315.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.23. The stock has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.91. Reliance has a 1 year low of $250.07 and a 1 year high of $365.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.88 and a quick ratio of 2.30.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.40). Reliance had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Reliance has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Reliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.36%.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 24,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.62, for a total transaction of $7,738,177.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares in the company, valued at $4,509,434.02. This represents a 63.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Reliance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RS. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Reliance in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Reliance by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Greenline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Reliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Reliance in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Reliance in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Reliance Company Profile

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.