Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS Position Cut by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,070,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 426,879 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Worthington Steel worth $123,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 31.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 204,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,202,000 after purchasing an additional 49,121 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Worthington Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,674,000. Midwest Trust Co acquired a new position in Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,377,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 170,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 74,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 403,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,022,000 after acquiring an additional 133,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

Shares of WS opened at $39.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a one year low of $21.30 and a one year high of $49.17.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly 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). Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $871.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Worthington Steel

In related news, Director Jon J. Bowsher purchased 2,500 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WS shares. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.00.

About Worthington Steel

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.