Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,248 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,481 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.34% of Worthington Steel worth $4,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WS. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 6.4% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 12,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 16,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 10,559.8% in 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 during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 51,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 10,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 1,317.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:WS opened at $32.24 on Friday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.30 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.85 and its 200-day moving average is $27.44.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.22. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $832.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Worthington Steel’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th.

About Worthington Steel

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.