Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Shares of WS stock opened at $41.57 on Friday. Worthington Steel has a 1 year low of $21.30 and a 1 year high of $49.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.53 and its 200-day moving average is $35.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35 and a beta of 1.62.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $871.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Worthington Steel

In related news, Director Jon J. Bowsher purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at $631,900.27. This trade represents a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Worthington Steel by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 37.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

About Worthington Steel

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.