Worthington Steel (WS) Competitors

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) and Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has better valuation & earnings, WS or GGB?

Gerdau has higher revenue and earnings than Worthington Steel. Gerdau is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Worthington Steel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Worthington Steel	$3.13B	0.50	$110.70M	$2.18	14.18
Gerdau	$12.43B	0.51	$846.59M	$0.29	11.02

Does the media prefer WS or GGB?

In the previous week, Worthington Steel and Worthington Steel both had 3 articles in the media. Worthington Steel's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Gerdau's score of 0.25 indicating that Worthington Steel is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Worthington Steel	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Gerdau	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate WS or GGB?

Worthington Steel currently has a consensus target price of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.43%. Gerdau has a consensus target price of $3.80, suggesting a potential upside of 18.94%. Given Gerdau's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Gerdau is more favorable than Worthington Steel.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Worthington Steel	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Gerdau	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is WS or GGB more profitable?

Gerdau has a net margin of 4.81% compared to Worthington Steel's net margin of 3.80%. Worthington Steel's return on equity of 10.11% beat Gerdau's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Worthington Steel	3.80%	10.11%	6.16%
Gerdau	4.81%	6.51%	4.29%

Which has more volatility & risk, WS or GGB?

Worthington Steel has a beta of 1.76, meaning that its share price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gerdau has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of WS or GGB?

45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.5% of Gerdau shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Worthington Steel shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Gerdau shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is WS or GGB a better dividend stock?

Worthington Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gerdau pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Worthington Steel pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gerdau pays out 27.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Gerdau is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Worthington Steel beats Gerdau on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.