Royce & Associates LP Purchases 188,884 Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 150.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,494 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,884 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.62% of Worthington Steel worth $9,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 39.8% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the second quarter worth about $52,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 37.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 149.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Worthington Steel

In related news, Director Scott J. Kelly bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at $631,900.27. The trade was a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jon J. Bowsher bought 2,500 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,403.95. This trade represents a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Worthington Steel stock opened at $39.15 on Wednesday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.30 and a 52 week high of $49.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $871.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.25 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is presently 35.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WS. Zacks Research upgraded Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.00.

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.