Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WS opened at $31.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 2.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.18. Worthington Steel has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 0.50%.The business had revenue of $929.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Worthington Steel will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Worthington Steel

In related news, CFO Timothy A. Adams sold 2,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,022.46. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,708 shares of company stock worth $1,431,830. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,287,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,438,000 after purchasing an additional 217,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,520,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,485,000 after acquiring an additional 68,775 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 695.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 969,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,475,000 after acquiring an additional 847,981 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,106,000 after purchasing an additional 102,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 609,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,532,000 after purchasing an additional 206,778 shares in the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.