Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.62, but opened at $38.03. Worthington Steel shares last traded at $35.8250, with a volume of 54,554 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Worthington Steel from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.27.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $929.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $992.00 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 3.64%.The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Worthington Steel

In other Worthington Steel news, COO Jeffrey R. Klingler sold 20,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total value of $877,977.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 93,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,549.84. The trade was a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $445,199.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,107.72. This represents a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 33,708 shares of company stock worth $1,431,830 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Worthington Steel

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Worthington Steel by 1,239.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its position 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 buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Worthington Steel during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 45.41% of the stock is 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.