American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 243,912 Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 966.1% during the first quarter, holding about 0.53% of the company, valued at approximately $6.82 million.
• Worthington Steel has a favorable outlook, with recent upgrades from analysts, including a "buy" rating and a consensus target price of $34.00.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.05 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) by 966.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,160 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 243,912 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of Worthington Steel worth $6,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WS. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,424 shares of the company's stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 3,734 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,885 shares of the company's stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 5,875 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel during the fourth quarter worth about $3,706,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,041 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Worthington Steel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of WS stock traded down $0.96 on Tuesday, reaching $32.34. The company had a trading volume of 159,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,540. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.89. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a one year low of $21.30 and a one year high of $47.19. The business's 50-day moving average is $31.62 and its 200 day moving average is $27.86.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $832.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $800.45 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 9.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.36%.

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.