Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Stock Price Down 7.8% – Here’s What Happened

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s stock price was down 7.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $27.35 and last traded at $27.4670. Approximately 128,002 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 304,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.79.

Worthington Steel News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Down 5.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.77 and a 200 day moving average of $35.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.62.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 3.64%.The company had revenue of $769.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Worthington Steel’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jon J. Bowsher purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly acquired 7,000 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,900.27. This trade represents a 76.44% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Worthington Steel by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 50,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 23,899 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Worthington Steel by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.