Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Worthington Steel, selling 122,547 shares and owning now 142,240 shares, representing a 46.3% decrease in their holdings.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Worthington Steel's rating from "hold" to "buy," with an average price target set at $34.00.
• The company reported earnings of $1.05 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, though revenue declined by 8.6% year-over-year.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its position in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) by 46.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,240 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,547 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Worthington Steel worth $3,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WS. CWM LLC grew its position in Worthington Steel by 141.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Worthington Steel in the 1st quarter worth about $118,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 10,559.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,807 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 9,715 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,419 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 3,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in Worthington Steel by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 12,133 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Worthington Steel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Worthington Steel presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Shares of WS stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.33. 245,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 186,828. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 1.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.07. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.30 and a 52-week high of $47.19.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $832.90 million for 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%. The business'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 company earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Worthington Steel's payout ratio is presently 29.36%.

Worthington Steel 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.