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Reliance Steel (RS) Launches E-Commerce Platform FastMetals

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) announced the launch of FastMetals, its new e-commerce platform.

FastMetals, situated in Massillon, OH, ships across the nation and has direct access to the company’s extensive network of metal service center locations, carrying more than 100,000 products. Notably, it provides a catalog pricing model for a diverse selection of metal items such as stainless, carbon, aluminum and specialty alloy steels.

Per the company, FastMetals was developed in response to the increasing demand from metalworkers of all backgrounds for digital purchasing solutions. It specializes in small orders, with quick turn-around, and excellent customer service in line with the core business strategy of Reliance Steel. Notably, FastMetals is another platform for experiencing the exclusive, customer-focused service of Reliance Steel.

The model of FastMetals is geared to smaller, specialized end-users such as fabricators, artists, hobbyists, machine shops and do-it-yourself practitioners. Notably, FastMetals offers individual customer with instant pricing, shipment on the same day, no minimum order quantity and direct fulfillment.

Reliance Steel’s shares have gained 30.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 28%.

 

 

The company is seeing healthy demand in major end-use markets such as aerospace and automotive. It is witnessing strong demand for heat-treated aluminum products in the aerospace markets.

Moreover, increased use of aluminum in vehicles is driving strong demand for the company’s processing services in the automotive market. Reliance Steel remains committed to investing in facilities and value-added processing equipment to address the rising demand for the services it offers. Healthy demand in the non-residential construction end market also provides additional upside.

Reliance Steel also continues with its aggressive acquisition strategy. Notably, the acquisition of All Metals Holding complements its growth strategy and meets its requirements of buying high-quality businesses, which are immediately accretive to its earnings.

Early this year, Reliance Steel also completed the purchase of all of the outstanding capital stock of Fry Steel Company. The acquisition is in sync with its business model and strategy of investing in high-quality and high-margin businesses.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Price and Consensus

 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Reliance Steel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Daqo New Energy Corp. (DQ - Free Report) , Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SAND - Free Report) and Commercial Metals Company (CMC - Free Report) .

Daqo New Energy has a projected earnings growth rate of 353.7% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 117.9% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sandstorm Gold has an estimated earnings growth rate of 77.8% for fiscal 2020. It presently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company’s shares have rallied 24.9% in a year.

Commercial Metals currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a projected earnings growth rate of 20.7% for 2020. The company’s shares have rallied 24.7% in a year.

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