Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NYSE:WS opened at $28.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.62. Worthington Steel has a 1 year low of $21.30 and a 1 year high of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.55.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $769.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In other news, Director Jon J. Bowsher bought 2,500 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.11 per share, with a total value of $273,770.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,900.27. The trade was a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WS. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 1,239.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Steel by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 2,619 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 207,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,189,000 after buying an additional 15,481 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 20,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 2,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Worthington Steel during the 4th quarter worth about $623,000. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Worthington Steel

Here are the key news stories impacting Worthington Steel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16/share (annualized yield ~2.1%), which supports shareholder income and signals management’s confidence in cash flow. MarketBeat WS page
• Positive Sentiment: Worthington is pursuing a strategic acquisition of Kloeckner with a target close in H2 2026; management highlighted automotive share gains and AI-driven transformation as growth levers — a potential long-term revenue/margin booster if integration goes well. Acquisition article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker coverage initiated by KeyCorp (initiation can increase visibility and trading liquidity); check the initiation note for rating/price-target details once available. KeyCorp initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript, slide deck and presentations are available for details on segment performance, margin drivers and management commentary — useful for judging forward guidance and integration plans. Earnings transcript Press release / slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed materially: GAAP EPS $0.27 vs. consensus ~$0.47 and revenue $769.8M vs. ~$883M — the earnings and revenue shortfall is the primary catalyst for the stock weakness as it raises concerns about near-term margins and demand timing. Zacks earnings coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary and pre-market stories flagged the downbeat results and put the stock under selling pressure; some retail/idea pieces call out a double-digit intraday decline, amplifying negative sentiment and volume. MSN market reaction AAII note

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.