Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $247,000 in Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. invested approximately $247,000 in Worthington Steel, Inc., acquiring 8,286 shares in the second quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., have also increased or acquired stakes in Worthington Steel, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Worthington Steel recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.1% and demonstrating its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WS. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the first quarter worth $8,901,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 966.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 269,160 shares of the company's stock worth $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 243,912 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the first quarter worth $4,485,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the first quarter worth $3,394,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 37.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 455,942 shares of the company's stock worth $11,549,000 after purchasing an additional 125,062 shares during the period. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Worthington Steel from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Worthington Steel stock opened at $30.67 on Thursday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a one year low of $21.30 and a one year high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 24th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 3.80%.The business had revenue of $872.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $785.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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