Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 4,000 Reliance, Inc. $RS

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Reliance, Inc. (NYSE:RS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RS. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Reliance by 417.6% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Reliance during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Reliance in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Reliance by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Reliance during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Reliance from $340.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Reliance from $284.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Reliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Reliance in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Reliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Reliance

In related news, CEO Karla R. Lewis sold 5,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.50, for a total value of $1,646,851.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 84,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,933,353.50. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen Paul Koch sold 3,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.56, for a total value of $869,394.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 14,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,975,794.76. This represents a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Reliance Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of RS opened at $356.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $312.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.26. The stock has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.92. Reliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.07 and a 12 month high of $365.59.

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.