Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 238,338 shares valued at about $8.25 million. Institutional investors overall own about 45.41% of the company.
• Worthington Steel reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.27 per share and revenue of $769.8 million, both below analyst expectations. Revenue still rose 12% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 2.27.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, payable June 26, implying an annualized yield of 1.5%. Meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $46.00.

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,338 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,665 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.47% of Worthington Steel worth $8,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Worthington Steel news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WS. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Worthington Steel in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

NYSE WS opened at $42.32 on Thursday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.23 and a 1-year high of $49.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 2.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $769.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Worthington Steel Company 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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