Royce & Associates LP Invests $2.86 Million in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel, purchasing 113,033 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million, which reflects a 0.22% ownership of the company.
• Worthington Steel has received a buy rating upgrade from Wall Street Zen, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.83, despite experiencing an 8.6% year-over-year revenue decline.

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 113,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,863,000. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.22% of Worthington Steel as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,467,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,154,000 after acquiring an additional 550,181 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Worthington Steel by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 445,698 shares of the company's stock worth $14,182,000 after purchasing an additional 15,684 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Worthington Steel by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 378,686 shares of the company's stock worth $12,050,000 after purchasing an additional 33,272 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Worthington Steel by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 264,787 shares of the company's stock worth $8,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 110.2% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 219,079 shares of the company's stock worth $5,549,000 after acquiring an additional 114,851 shares during the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Worthington Steel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

NYSE WS traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $30.42. 69,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,359. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.50. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a one year low of $21.30 and a one year high of $47.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.36%.

About Worthington Steel

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.