Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 28,780 Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Worthington Steel stake by 13.6%, purchasing 28,780 shares to own 240,916 shares valued at approximately $7.3 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 45.41% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Worthington Steel carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $46, compared with its recent opening price of $37.95.
• Worthington Steel slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.74 versus $0.73, while revenue reached $929.2 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, implying a 1.7% annualized yield.

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 240,916 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 28,780 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.47% of Worthington Steel worth $7,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,287,641 shares of the company's stock worth $148,438,000 after buying an additional 217,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,520,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,485,000 after purchasing an additional 68,775 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 695.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 969,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,475,000 after purchasing an additional 847,981 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Worthington Steel by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,106,000 after buying an additional 102,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Worthington Steel by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 530,069 shares of the company's stock worth $18,351,000 after buying an additional 16,653 shares during the period. 45.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Worthington Steel from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Worthington Steel presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Down 0.2%

WS opened at $37.95 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.46. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $49.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31 and a beta of 2.30.

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

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.04%.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In other Worthington Steel news, COO Jeffrey R. Klingler sold 20,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total value of $877,977.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 93,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,084,549.84. The trade was a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $445,199.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 64,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,107.72. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 33,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,431,830 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Worthington Steel Profile

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.

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