Reliance (NYSE:RS) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Reliance from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with an average price target of $378.67.
• Reliance reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $6.27 versus the $5.47 estimate and revenue of $4.63 billion, up 26.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $425.46, near the company’s 12-month high of $433.02; insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors own 79.26% of the stock.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Reliance from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Reliance from $372.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Reliance from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Reliance from $378.00 to $376.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Reliance presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $378.67.

Reliance Stock Performance

Shares of RS stock opened at $425.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $398.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $358.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Reliance has a 12-month low of $260.31 and a 12-month high of $433.02.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.47 by $0.80. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.43 earnings per share. Reliance has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Reliance will post 22.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Reliance

In related news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.11, for a total transaction of $902,242.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,004,010.40. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William A. Smith II sold 2,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.21, for a total transaction of $974,636.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,394 shares in the company, valued at $8,033,188.74. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Reliance in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Reliance during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Reliance during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Greenline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Reliance during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 79.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Reliance

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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