Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.61 and last traded at $38.5650, with a volume of 85133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Up 3.8%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.69. 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 (NYSE:WS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 EPS 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 company had revenue of $871.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 14.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 89.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 4.5% during the first 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. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Worthington Steel in the 1st quarter valued at $585,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Worthington Steel by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.