Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Worthington Steel from “strong buy” to “hold,” contributing to an overall analyst consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.
• Worthington Steel reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, slightly above estimates of $0.73, while revenue of $929.2 million fell short of the $992 million consensus estimate; revenue nevertheless increased 11.6% year over year.
• The stock opened at $33.23, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and institutional investors own 45.41% of shares. Several investment firms recently increased their positions, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and LSV Asset Management.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Worthington Steel from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

NYSE WS opened at $33.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.30. Worthington Steel has a 52 week low of $27.22 and a 52 week high of $49.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 2.27.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The company had revenue of $929.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the second quarter worth $11,617,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 563.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 365,672 shares of the company's stock worth $12,660,000 after acquiring an additional 310,572 shares during the last quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 207,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,186,000 after acquiring an additional 74,021 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,520,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,485,000 after acquiring an additional 68,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Steel by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 238,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,251,000 after acquiring an additional 46,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company's stock.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel, Inc is a steel processing company that produces value-added flat-rolled steel products for manufacturers and industrial customers. Its operations include steel slitting, cold rolling, coating, electrical steel processing and other specialized treatments designed to meet customers' product and performance requirements.

The company supplies products and services to a range of end markets, including automotive, electrical infrastructure, construction, energy, industrial equipment and consumer products.

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