Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WS stock opened at $35.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.02. Worthington Steel has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $49.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $929.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Worthington Steel’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Worthington Steel will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $445,199.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,107.72. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy A. Adams sold 2,367 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.27, for a total transaction of $100,053.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,022.46. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 33,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,431,830 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WS. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 1,239.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Worthington Steel during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Worthington Steel during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 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.