Dahlman Rose Maintains Hold on Reliance Steel & Aluminum after 4Q Earnings

Dahlman Rose has published a research report on Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company

after the company reported 4Q earnings above expectations. In the report, Dahlman Rose writes, "Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported 4Q11 EPS of $0.91 versus our estimate of $0.75 and consensus of $0.81. Full year shipments (in tons) for carbon steel (3.4 MM), aluminum (228k), stainless (207k), and alloy (269k) products were roughly in line with our expectations. Variance from our estimate was largely due to slightly higher than expected price realizations and a lower effective tax rate (29.8% vs our 33% estimate). Average price per ton declined 3% to $1,919/ton in the quarter and tons sold declined 2%." Dahlman Rose maintains its Hold rating on Reliance Steel & Aluminum, which is currently trading down $0.24 from yesterday's $55.86 closing price.