UBS Group AG Trims Stake in Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

UBS Group AG lowered its position in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 47.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,905 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.14% of Worthington Steel worth $2,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WS. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 39.8% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 149.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Worthington Steel by 50.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 568.2% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 17.6% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 9,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Trading Up 2.7%

WS opened at $41.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 2.23. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.23 and a 12 month high of $49.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.95.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $769.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Worthington Steel’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

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.