Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts hold a neutral view: Reliance has a consensus “Hold” rating from nine analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $379.83 versus the reported share price of $393.84.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $6.27, beating estimates by $0.80, while revenue rose 26.5% year over year to $4.63 billion. Management guided to third-quarter EPS of $6.40–$6.60.
• Institutional ownership remains high, but insiders sold shares: Institutional investors own 79.26% of the stock, while the CFO and a senior vice president recently reduced their holdings. Reliance also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.25, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.

Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $379.8333.

A number of analysts have commented on RS shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Reliance from $398.00 to $391.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Reliance from $398.00 to $390.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Reliance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Reliance from $378.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.11, for a total transaction of $902,242.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,640 shares in the company, valued at $6,004,010.40. This trade represents a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP William A. Smith II sold 2,353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.21, for a total value of $974,636.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,033,188.74. This represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Reliance during the second quarter valued at $2,171,081,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $270,349,000 after buying an additional 2,549 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Reliance in the 4th quarter worth about $207,691,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Reliance in the 2nd quarter worth about $176,913,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Reliance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $142,900,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Reliance Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of RS stock opened at $393.84 on Thursday. Reliance has a 1 year low of $260.31 and a 1 year high of $433.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $399.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.96.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.47 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. Reliance had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 5.65%.Reliance's revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.43 EPS. Reliance has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Reliance will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Reliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Reliance's dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

About Reliance

Reliance, Inc NYSE: RS is a diversified metals service center company that purchases, processes and distributes metals and related industrial products. Its product portfolio includes carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, brass, titanium and other specialty metals.

The company provides value-added processing services such as cutting, leveling, sawing, machining, forming and preparing materials to customer specifications. These services help manufacturers and other commercial users reduce material-handling requirements and obtain metals in ready-to-use forms.

Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Reliance serves customers through a network of operations primarily across North America, with additional international capabilities.

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