Zacks Research Upgrades Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) to Hold

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WS. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of WS opened at $41.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Worthington Steel has a 12-month low of $24.23 and a 12-month high of $49.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 2.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.95.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $769.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Worthington Steel will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 1.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 85,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 13.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 240,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,312,000 after acquiring an additional 28,780 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 16.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 50.2% in the first quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 36,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 12,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windsor Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 32.9% in the first quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 275,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,373,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares in the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel (NYSE: WS) is a leading North American steel processor specializing in the production of flat-rolled, coated and painted sheet and coil products. Operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Worthington Industries, the company serves a broad range of industries, including construction, automotive, appliance, energy and agricultural equipment. Its core business activities encompass the processing, finishing and distribution of carbon and advanced high-strength steels, aluminum and stainless products to manufacturers across the continent.

The company’s product portfolio includes hot-dip galvanizing, galvannealed, aluminized and pre-painted steel products, as well as cold-rolled and hot-rolled coil.