Improving demand for steel and aluminum plus signs

Posted by tjdetai on January 1st, 2016

Improving demand for steel and aluminum plus signs that the economy is improving led an analyst Monday to upgrade shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.KeyBanc analyst Mark Parr upgraded shares of the Los Angeles-company to "Buy" from "Hold," citing an "emerging macro recovery" and "broad-based demand stabilization."The analyst also raised his earnings estimates for Reliance's third quarter to 50 cents per share from 20 cents per share and his fourth-quarter estimate to 66 cents per share from 45 cents per share.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect, on average, third-quarter earnings per share of 21 cents and fourth-quarter earnings per share of 36 cents."We sense Reliance is poised to benefit from increased potential for more broad-based demand recovery emerging over the next several quarters, substantial resolution of inventory mismatches, and restoration of more normalized first-in-first-out gross margins," he wrote in a client note.Parr set a price target on the stock.In premarket trading, shares fell 52 cents to .08. In the last 52 weeks, the stock has ranged from .58 to .60.

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