Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $26.26, but opened at $31.66. Worthington Steel shares last traded at $29.62, with a volume of 230,319 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $832.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.45 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 9.54%. Worthington Steel’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Worthington Steel from $41.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $649,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 1,317.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 18,269 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 10,559.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 9,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 330,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,529,000 after buying an additional 9,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.87. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.64.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel, Inc operates as a steel processor in North America. It offers carbon flat-rolled steel and tailor welded blanks, as well as electrical steel laminations; and aluminum tailor welded blanks. The company serves various end-markets, including automotive, heavy truck, agriculture, construction, and energy.