Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Worthington Steel fell below its 200-day moving average of $37.67, touching $35.86 and last trading at $35.93.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus $1.16 expected and revenue of $2.73 billion versus $3.14 billion expected, though revenue rose 212.4% year over year.
• Analyst views are mixed, with ratings spanning buy, hold, and sell; the consensus rating is Hold with a $46 average price target.

Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.67 and traded as low as $35.86. Worthington Steel shares last traded at $35.9250, with a volume of 495,783 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Worthington Steel from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Worthington Steel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of -58.89 and a beta of 2.12.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.59). Worthington Steel had a positive return on equity of 7.49% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 212.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 14th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 14th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Worthington Steel's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -104.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Worthington Steel news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 18,370 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.31, for a total value of $740,494.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,351,150.89. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 26,838 shares of company stock worth $1,080,549 in the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Worthington Steel

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Worthington Steel by 29.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 201,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 46,358 shares during the last quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 32.9% in the first quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 275,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,373,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel in the second quarter valued at $11,617,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 127.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 40,097 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,520,318 shares of the company's stock worth $76,485,000 after acquiring an additional 68,775 shares during the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel, Inc NYSE: WS is a steel processing company that produces value-added flat-rolled steel products for manufacturers and industrial customers. The company processes carbon steel, electrical steel and other specialty steel products, with offerings that include coated and treated steel, electrical steel laminations and tailor-welded blanks.

Its products are used in a range of applications, including automotive components, electrical equipment, motors and transformers, construction products, appliances, energy systems, agriculture and general industrial manufacturing.

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