Comparing Worthington Steel (WS) & Its Rivals

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) is one of 1,987 publicly-traded companies in the “Metals & Mining” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Worthington Steel to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Worthington Steel and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Worthington Steel	0.50%	8.87%	4.89%
Worthington Steel Competitors	-1,164,884,689,320,590,600.00%	-8.99%	-2.07%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Worthington Steel and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Worthington Steel	$3.44 billion	$8.50 million	25.99
Worthington Steel Competitors	$4.64 billion	$277.89 million	-26.72

Worthington Steel’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Worthington Steel. Worthington Steel is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Worthington Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Worthington Steel pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.8% and pay out 10.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Worthington Steel lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Worthington Steel has a beta of 2.27, suggesting that its stock price is 127% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Worthington Steel’s peers have a beta of 1.02, suggesting that their average stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.8% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Worthington Steel and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Worthington Steel	0	1	1	1	3.00
Worthington Steel Competitors	6292	22376	31927	1761	2.47

Worthington Steel currently has a consensus price target of $46.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.35%. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies have a potential upside of 16.95%. Given Worthington Steel’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Worthington Steel is more favorable than its peers.

Summary

Worthington Steel beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel, Inc. operates as a steel processor in North America. It offers carbon flat-rolled steel and tailor welded blanks, as well as electrical steel laminations; and aluminum tailor welded blanks. The company serves various end-markets, including automotive, heavy truck, agriculture, construction, and energy. Worthington Steel, Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.