Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Trading Down 7.4% – Here’s Why

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s share price dropped 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $35.98 and last traded at $35.70. 27,330 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 296,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WS. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.71 and a 200 day moving average of $38.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 2.23.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $929.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.00 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Worthington Steel

In other Worthington Steel news, COO Jeffrey R. Klingler sold 20,036 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total transaction of $877,977.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 93,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,549.84. The trade was a 17.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,431,830. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Worthington Steel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WS. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 530,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,351,000 after acquiring an additional 16,653 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,351,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted 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 valued at $18,532,000 after purchasing an additional 206,778 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 238,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,251,000 after purchasing an additional 46,665 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,163,000. 45.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.