Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of WS opened at $45.38 on Monday. Worthington Steel has a fifty-two week low of $21.30 and a fifty-two week high of $49.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $871.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.25 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Worthington Steel’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott J. Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,900.27. This represents a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon J. Bowsher acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,403.95. This trade represents a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 14.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 23,899 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 1,294.9% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 14,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 45.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.