Short Interest in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) Grows By 29.7%

Key Points

• Short interest in Reliance, Inc. rose by 29.7%, totaling 1,110,000 shares as of July 31st, indicating increased bearish sentiment among investors.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates, posting $4.43 which is below the expected $4.72, alongside a slight revenue increase of 0.5% year-over-year.
• Reliance announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, reflecting a 1.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 35.04%.

Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,110,000 shares, anincreaseof29.7% from the July 15th total of 856,100 shares. Currently,2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently,2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Reliance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Reliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Reliance currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reliance

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Reliance by 138.9% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 86 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Reliance by 417.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Reliance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Reliance in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Reliance by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Reliance Price Performance

NYSE:RS opened at $285.6350 on Thursday. Reliance has a 52 week low of $250.07 and a 52 week high of $347.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $308.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Reliance (NYSE:RS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.72 by ($0.29). Reliance had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.65 EPS. Reliance's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Reliance has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.600-3.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Reliance will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Reliance's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.04%.

Reliance Company Profile

Reliance, Inc operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries.

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