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

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

WS has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday, June 29th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Worthington Steel stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.16. 234,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 393,171. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86 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 has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $49.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.06.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $929.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.00 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 0.50%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Worthington Steel will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Worthington Steel

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Klingler sold 20,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total value of $877,977.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 93,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,549.84. This represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 33,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,431,830 in the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Worthington Steel

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 89.4% during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Worthington Steel in the 2nd quarter worth $670,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 3.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 127,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after purchasing an additional 4,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

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.