Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new position in Worthington Enterprises, Inc. by purchasing 5,174 shares, worth approximately $259,000.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Worthington Enterprises, with a price target increase from Goldman Sachs to $50 and a buy rating from Canaccord Genuity with a target of $81.
• Worthington Enterprises has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.19, yielding an annualized dividend of $0.76, which represents a dividend payout ratio of 35.60%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Worthington Enterprises by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Worthington Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Worthington Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Worthington Enterprises by 77.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Enterprises by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.59% of the company's stock.

Worthington Enterprises Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WOR traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.22. The stock had a trading volume of 194,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.62. Worthington Enterprises, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.88 and a 52-week high of $70.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $61.94 and its 200 day moving average is $52.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10 and a beta of 1.21.

Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $317.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.96 million. Worthington Enterprises had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 16.66%. Worthington Enterprises's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Worthington Enterprises, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Worthington Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Worthington Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WOR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Worthington Enterprises from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Worthington Enterprises from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Worthington Enterprises Company Profile

Worthington Enterprises, Inc operates as an industrial manufacturing company. It operates through three segments: Building Products, Consumer Products, and Sustainable Energy Solutions. The Building Products segment sells refrigerant and LPG cylinders, well water and expansion tanks, fire suppression tanks, chemical tanks, and foam and adhesive tanks for gas producers, and distributors.