Scott Kelly Buys 7,000 Shares of Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Stock

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) Director Scott Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,900.27. This represents a 76.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

Worthington Steel stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 248,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,811. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.30 and a twelve month high of $44.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 1.69.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.83%.The business had revenue of $871.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew 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 worth $29,475,000 after purchasing an additional 847,981 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Worthington Steel by 429.8% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 513,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 416,509 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Worthington Steel by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,287,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,438,000 after buying an additional 217,090 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 206,778 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 154.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 340,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,165,000 after buying an additional 206,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research lowered Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

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.