Reliance (NYSE:RS) Stock Rating Lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $330.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $340.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 1.09% from the company’s current price.

RS has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Reliance from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $340.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Reliance from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Reliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $316.00.

Reliance Price Performance

NYSE RS opened at $326.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $317.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.80. Reliance has a 1 year low of $250.07 and a 1 year high of $365.59.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Reliance had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Reliance has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.500-4.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Reliance will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Reliance news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.50, for a total value of $1,646,851.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,933,353.50. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total transaction of $869,394.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,975,794.76. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RS. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Reliance by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,461,000 after buying an additional 741,417 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Reliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,691,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Reliance by 899.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 733,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,997,000 after acquiring an additional 660,128 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Reliance by 25.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 343,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Reliance by 1,018.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 341,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $98,744,000 after purchasing an additional 311,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Reliance

Here are the key news stories impacting Reliance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Volume and revenue momentum, plus capital returns — Net sales rose to $3.50B (up 11.9% YoY) and the company reported record annual tons sold; Reliance repurchased $200.1M of stock in Q4 ($594.1M for 2025) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.25 (4.2% increase). These support long-term cash return and unit-demand strength. Reliance, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 EPS guidance given as $4.50–$4.70 — The range is essentially in line with Street expectations (consensus ~4.59), so guidance neither materially beats nor disappoints. Management framed demand for Q1 as healthy. RS’ Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Sales Up on Higher Price and Volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call commentary available — Transcripts note management discussed drivers of volume growth, LIFO and cost dynamics, and capital allocation priorities (buybacks/dividend). Read the call for nuance on margins and outlook. Reliance, Inc. (RS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about a Rs 10 lakh crore AI investment and a Rs 13-cr supplier order reference the Indian conglomerate “Reliance” (Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries), not Reliance, Inc. (RS). These stories are unlikely to affect RS’s fundamentals or trading materially. Reliance to invest Rs 10 lakh crore in AI over seven years, Ambani tells India AI Summit Artson hits the roof after securing Rs 13-cr order from Reliance Industries
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed consensus materially — GAAP EPS $2.40 vs. consensus ~$2.80. Margin compression and LIFO expense were cited as key drivers of the miss; pretax income and GAAP EPS declined sequentially. That earnings shortfall is the primary reason investors sold the stock despite top-line strength. Reliance (RS) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability metrics softened — Gross profit margin and pretax margins narrowed versus prior periods; LIFO expense and sequential margin decline raise near-term margin risk even as volumes rise. That shifts focus to whether pricing and cost control can restore margins. Reliance, Inc. Q4 and FY2025 Results

Reliance Company Profile

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.