Reliance (NYSE:RS) Trading Down 8.5% – Time to Sell?

Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS)’s stock price traded down 8.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $294.57 and last traded at $270.24. 159,755 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 381,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Reliance from $340.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Reliance from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Reliance from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Reliance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $317.25.

Reliance Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $280.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). Reliance had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Reliance has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.650-2.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Reliance, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Reliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.50, for a total transaction of $1,646,851.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,933,353.50. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total transaction of $869,394.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,975,794.76. This represents a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reliance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Reliance by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,461,000 after purchasing an additional 741,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Reliance during the second quarter valued at approximately $207,741,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Reliance by 899.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 733,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,997,000 after acquiring an additional 660,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Reliance by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,708,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,870,000 after acquiring an additional 343,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Reliance during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,373,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.