Wall Street Zen Downgrades Reliance (NYSE:RS) to Hold

Reliance (NYSE:RS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on RS. Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Reliance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $340.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Reliance from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $340.00 to $330.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Reliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.67.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RS opened at $315.25 on Friday. Reliance has a 12-month low of $250.07 and a 12-month high of $365.59. The company has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.21. The company has a current ratio of 4.88, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Reliance

In other news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 24,060 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.62, for a total value of $7,738,177.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,509,434.02. This trade represents a 63.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $23,933,353.50. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,935 shares of company stock valued at $10,254,424. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Reliance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Reliance by 6.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,364,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Reliance by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Reliance by 99.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Reliance during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Reliance by 13.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,951,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares in the last quarter. 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.