StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on RS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Reliance Steel & Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $261.20.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Stock Performance

NYSE:RS opened at $240.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Reliance Steel & Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $160.29 and a fifty-two week high of $264.42. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.89.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The industrial products company reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $1.40. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Reliance Steel & Aluminum had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 27.01%. The company’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Reliance Steel & Aluminum will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Reliance Steel & Aluminum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Reliance Steel & Aluminum’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Insider Transactions at Reliance Steel & Aluminum

In related news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 1,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.54, for a total transaction of $404,325.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,211,923.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 1,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.54, for a total transaction of $404,325.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,211,923.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Donald Hoffman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.20, for a total transaction of $4,864,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,320,985.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,390 shares of company stock worth $8,636,208. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reliance Steel & Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 81.73% of the company’s stock.

About Reliance Steel & Aluminum

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co engages in the provision of a metal distribution center. It offers alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products. The company was founded by Thomas J. Neilan on February 3, 1939, and is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ.