Reliance Steel's (RS) Q3 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) is a leading metals service center company engaged in value-added materials management and metals processing services. It distributes metal products including stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, titanium and alloy steel to customers across a vast spectrum of industries.

Reliance Steel is gaining from its strategic acquisitions and strong demand for its products across the aerospace and automotive markets.

Let’s have a quick look at this metal processor’s third-quarter 2017 release.

Estimate Trend & Surprise History

Investors should note that the earnings estimate for Reliance Steel for the third quarter has been going down over the past month. Reliance Steel has beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters with an average positive surprise of 4%.

Earnings

Reliance Steel logged adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share for the quarter that exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20.

Revenues

Reliance Steel recorded net sales of $2,450.1 million, up 12.1% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,366 million.

Key Stats/Developments to Note

Reliance Steel estimates tons sold will be down 4% to 6% in the fourth quarter on a sequential comparison basis. Average selling prices are projected to be flat to down 2% in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter. Additionally, the company expects earnings per share to be in the band of 90 cents to $1.00 for the fourth quarter.

Zacks Rank

Reliance Steel currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change following the company’s earnings report which was just released.

Market Reaction

Reliance Steel’s shares were up 2.5% in pre-market trading following the release. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the results during the trading session today.

Check back later for our full write up on Reliance Steel’s earnings report!

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