S&P Downgrades Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS) to Hold from Buy

S&P downgraded Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) to Hold from Buy in the April 14, edition of The Outlook, on price appreciation. Their earnings estimates - (EPS) of $3.61 in 2010 and $4.24 in 2011 are unchanged, as was S&P’s 12-month target price of $56.

Commenting, S&P said this:

“On our projected P/E on 2010’s EPS, Reliance Steel would sell at a premium to its main peer. Following a very sharp rise in the stock price, we do not believe that Reliance Steel is undervalued, recently trading at 14.7 times our 2010 estimate. Long term, we see earnings increasing on acquisitions and industry consolidation.”