Worthington Steel (WS) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, WS or GGB?

Worthington Steel has a beta of 1.87, suggesting that its stock price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gerdau has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, 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	$3.09B	0.55	$110.70M	$2.18	15.23
Gerdau	$12.43B	0.48	$846.59M	$0.29	10.26

Does the media favor WS or GGB?

In the previous week, Worthington Steel had 1 more articles in the media than Gerdau. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Worthington Steel and 1 mentions for Gerdau. Gerdau's average media sentiment score of 1.77 beat Worthington Steel's score of 1.67 indicating that Gerdau is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Do analysts rate WS or GGB?

Worthington Steel currently has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.42%. Gerdau has a consensus price target of $3.80, indicating a potential upside of 27.73%. Given Gerdau's higher probable upside, analysts plainly 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)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Gerdau	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

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 1.9%. Gerdau pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. 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.

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

45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.5% of Gerdau shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Gerdau shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is WS or GGB more profitable?

Gerdau has a net margin of 4.81% compared to Worthington Steel's net margin of 3.58%. Worthington Steel's return on equity of 9.43% beat Gerdau's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Worthington Steel	3.58%	9.43%	5.95%
Gerdau	4.81%	6.51%	4.29%

Summary

Worthington Steel beats Gerdau on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.