Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

Shares of WS stock opened at $28.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.57. Worthington Steel has a one year low of $21.30 and a one year high of $49.17.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $769.80 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Worthington Steel news, Director Scott J. Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,900.27. The trade was a 76.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon J. Bowsher acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $40.15 per share, for a total transaction of $100,375.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,403.95. This trade represents a 16.24% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 89.4% during the first 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. increased its holdings in Worthington Steel by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Steel by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 802,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,936,000 after buying an additional 7,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel in the second quarter valued at $232,000. 45.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.