Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WS has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

Shares of WS opened at $35.59 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.19 and its 200-day moving average is $38.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 2.34. Worthington Steel has a fifty-two week low of $27.22 and a fifty-two week high of $49.17.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $929.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Worthington Steel’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Worthington Steel will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In related news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy A. Adams sold 2,367 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.27, for a total transaction of $100,053.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,022.46. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,708 shares of company stock worth $1,431,830. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 530,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,653 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter valued at $1,351,000. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the 4th quarter worth $7,163,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 238,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,251,000 after buying an additional 46,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windsor Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 207,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,186,000 after buying an additional 74,021 shares during the last quarter. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Worthington Steel Company Profile

Worthington Steel (NYSE: WS) is a leading North American steel processor specializing in the production of flat-rolled, coated and painted sheet and coil products. Operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Worthington Industries, the company serves a broad range of industries, including construction, automotive, appliance, energy and agricultural equipment. Its core business activities encompass the processing, finishing and distribution of carbon and advanced high-strength steels, aluminum and stainless products to manufacturers across the continent.

The company’s product portfolio includes hot-dip galvanizing, galvannealed, aluminized and pre-painted steel products, as well as cold-rolled and hot-rolled coil.