Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.62, but opened at $38.03. Worthington Steel shares last traded at $35.8250, with a volume of 54,554 shares.

Key Stories Impacting Worthington Steel

Here are the key news stories impacting Worthington Steel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates for Worthington Steel and reiterated an Overweight rating with a $46 price target, signaling confidence in earnings growth. KeyCorp estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings-call commentary highlighted progress on the Klöckner integration, suggesting potential synergy benefits and strategic upside for margins and cash flow. Klöckner synergies article
• Neutral Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reinforcing shareholder returns, though the yield is modest at about 1.7%. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and call coverage focused on navigating industry challenges while integrating recent acquisitions, which may temper enthusiasm until investors see clearer margin improvement. Earnings call highlights

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Worthington Steel from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 2.22.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $929.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.00 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In other Worthington Steel news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Klingler sold 20,036 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total value of $877,977.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 93,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,549.84. This trade represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 33,708 shares of company stock worth $1,431,830 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Worthington Steel by 1,239.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

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.