Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Reaches New 12-Month High After Insider Buying Activity

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $44.35 and last traded at $44.3690, with a volume of 193374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.24.

Specifically, Director Jon J. Bowsher acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.15 per share, for a total transaction of $100,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly bought 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.11 per share, with a total value of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,900.27. The trade was a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WS has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Up 5.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $871.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.25 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.83%.Worthington Steel’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 5.3% during 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 1.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,462,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,823,000 after acquiring an additional 32,717 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 695.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 969,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,475,000 after acquiring an additional 847,981 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 802,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,936,000 after acquiring an additional 7,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 206,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

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.