Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 48,240 Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 48,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Worthington Steel at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Worthington Steel by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Worthington Steel during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WS opened at $27.08 on Thursday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.30 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.40 and a 200-day moving average of $31.63.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.32). Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 4.36%. The company had revenue of $687.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $732.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Worthington Steel's payout ratio is 29.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Worthington Steel from $41.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

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.

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