Reliance (NYSE:RS) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Reliance (NYSE:RS – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Reliance from $287.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.33.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Reliance

Reliance Stock Down 2.7%

RS stock opened at $314.00 on Friday. Reliance has a one year low of $250.07 and a one year high of $365.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 4.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $321.16 and its 200 day moving average is $296.65. The firm has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Reliance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Reliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Reliance’s payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other news, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 24,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,509,434.02. This trade represents a 63.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Reliance

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in Reliance by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Reliance by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 192,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,135 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Reliance by 1,018.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 341,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $98,744,000 after purchasing an additional 311,276 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Reliance by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 8,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Reliance by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

More Reliance News

Here are the key news stories impacting Reliance this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $315 to $323 and kept an “equal weight” rating — a modest vote of confidence that implies upside vs. the current market level. Wells Fargo price target raise
  • Neutral Sentiment: AmericanBankingNews published a positive-leaning forecast mentioning Wells Fargo’s outlook, which may provide some near-term support but doesn’t change fundamentals. Wells Fargo forecast article
  • Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut several near-term EPS estimates — notably Q1 2026 (to $4.61 from $4.74) and Q2 2026 (to $4.66 from $4.97) and trimmed some 2027 quarter forecasts — while keeping a “Hold” rating. These downgrades increase short-term earnings uncertainty and likely pressured the stock. Zacks Research note
  • Negative Sentiment: Reliance’s most recent quarter showed an EPS miss (reported $2.40 vs. $2.80 expected) despite revenue growth; management set Q1 guidance of $4.50–4.70, but lingering misses amplify sensitivity to analyst revisions and could weigh on the stock. Quarterly results summary

About Reliance

(Get Free Report)

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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