Royce & Associates LP Sells 27,748 Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,748 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.56% of Worthington Steel worth $9,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Worthington Steel

In other news, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,578,107.72. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

Shares of WS stock opened at $42.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 2.23. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.23 and a 52 week high of $49.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.62 and a 200-day moving average of $37.02.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $769.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 3.64%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WS has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.