Reliance (NYSE:RS) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $423.83 and last traded at $423.81, with a volume of 13982 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $414.91.

Reliance News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Reliance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Reliance estimates for Q3 2026 EPS to $6.50 from $4.14, Q4 2026 EPS to $4.64 from $3.61, and full-year 2026 EPS to $22.57 from $18.07. The FY2026 forecast is also above the broader consensus of $21.33, signaling stronger expected near-term earnings momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: The analyst lifted FY2027 EPS to $21.24 from $18.44, Q3 2027 EPS to $6.19 from $4.46, and Q4 2027 EPS to $4.48 from $3.59. Smaller increases were made to Q1 and Q2 2027 estimates, reinforcing a positive outlook through 2027.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks retained its “Strong-Buy” rating. The revisions follow Reliance’s latest quarterly performance, in which the company exceeded EPS and revenue expectations and reported 26.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock opened at $417.75, close to its 12-month high of $424.77 and well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. This reflects strong momentum, although much of the improved earnings outlook may already be reflected in the share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reduced longer-term estimates for Q1 2028 EPS to $4.45 from $5.20, Q2 2028 EPS to $4.66 from $5.47, and FY2028 EPS to $18.09 from $19.32. The cuts suggest analysts expect earnings growth to moderate after 2027 and could limit longer-term upside.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Reliance from $378.00 to $376.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Reliance from $378.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Reliance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Bank of America cut Reliance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Reliance from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $378.67.

Reliance Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $394.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 4.30.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. Reliance had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 5.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.43 earnings per share. Reliance has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.600 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Reliance, Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Reliance’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Insider Activity at Reliance

In other Reliance news, CFO Arthur Ajemyan sold 2,200 shares of Reliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.11, for a total value of $902,242.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,004,010.40. The trade was a 13.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William A. Smith II sold 2,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.21, for a total value of $974,636.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,033,188.74. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reliance

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Reliance in the 4th quarter worth $207,691,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Reliance by 27.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,247,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $631,224,000 after acquiring an additional 484,286 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Reliance in the second quarter valued at about $176,913,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Reliance by 25.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,708,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,870,000 after acquiring an additional 343,598 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Reliance by 1,019.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 341,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $98,758,000 after acquiring an additional 311,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

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.