Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $4.78 Million Position in Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,252 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Worthington Steel worth $4,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Worthington Steel by 568.2% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the 3rd quarter valued at $528,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Worthington Steel by 429.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 513,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 416,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 17.6% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 9,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Up 0.9%

Worthington Steel stock opened at $46.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39 and a beta of 1.67. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.30 and a 52-week high of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.38.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $871.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.25 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.83%.Worthington Steel’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. 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, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.96%.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In other Worthington Steel news, Director Jon J. Bowsher purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.15 per share, for a total transaction of $100,375.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,403.95. This trade represents a 16.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 16,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,900.27. The trade was 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.

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.