Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Shares Up 5.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Worthington Steel shares rose 5.6% to about $38.08, though trading volume was 54% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $46, despite one analyst maintaining an “Overweight” rating.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.57 in EPS versus $1.16 expected and revenue of $2.73 billion versus $3.14 billion estimated. Worthington Steel also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) traded up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $37.95 and last traded at $38.08. Approximately 138,398 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 302,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Worthington Steel from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Worthington Steel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Worthington Steel currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of -62.38 and a beta of 2.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.41.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Worthington Steel had a positive return on equity of 7.49% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. Worthington Steel's revenue for the quarter was up 212.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 14th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 14th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio is presently -104.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WS. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at $111,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Worthington Steel in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Worthington Steel in the 2nd quarter worth $11,617,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 240,916 shares of the company's stock worth $7,312,000 after buying an additional 28,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 85,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company's stock.

About Worthington Steel

Worthington Steel, Inc is a steel processing company that produces value-added flat-rolled steel products for manufacturers in the automotive, construction, energy, industrial and consumer markets. Its offerings include electrical steel, laser-welded and tailor-welded blanks, and other processed steel products designed to meet specific customer requirements.

The company provides services such as slitting, blanking, cold reduction, welding and other steel processing capabilities. Its products are used in applications including automotive components, electrical motors and transformers, building products, pressure vessels and industrial equipment.

Worthington Steel was separated from Worthington Industries as an independent public company in December 2023.

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