Reliance (NYSE:RS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.53 EPS

Key Points

• Beat by $0.53: Reliance reported quarterly EPS of $5.16, topping estimates by $0.53 and posting a net margin of 5.17% with a return on equity of 10.45%.
• Shares jumped $14.61 to $350.60 on heavy volume, leaving the stock above the consensus target of $326.20; the company trades at a P/E of 25.1 and has a market cap of $18.14 billion.
• Dividend increased: Reliance raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 (from $1.20), an annualized $5.00 payout with a ~1.4% yield and a payout ratio near 35.8%.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.63 by $0.53, Zacks reports. Reliance had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 10.45%.

Reliance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RS traded up $14.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $350.60. 618,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,808. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. Reliance has a 1 year low of $260.31 and a 1 year high of $365.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $314.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.35. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Reliance's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Reliance's payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Reliance

In other Reliance news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 24,060 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,509,434.02. The trade was a 63.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP William A. Smith II sold 6,615 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $1,975,305.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 21,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,493,871.67. This trade represents a 23.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Reliance by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 842 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Reliance during the 3rd quarter worth $240,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Reliance during the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Reliance during the 3rd quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in shares of Reliance during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Reliance from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Reliance in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Reliance from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $340.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Reliance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.20.

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.

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