Short Interest in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) Increases By 24.8%

Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,173,916 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the January 29th total of 940,650 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 300,451 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 300,451 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jon J. Bowsher bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.15 per share, with a total value of $100,375.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.11 per share, with a total value of $273,770.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at $631,900.27. The trade was a 76.44% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Worthington Steel by 39.8% during the third 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. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Worthington Steel during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Worthington Steel from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Worthington Steel Trading Up 1.6%

WS opened at $42.22 on Tuesday. Worthington Steel has a 12-month low of $21.30 and a 12-month high of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.41.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $871.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.25 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 3.83%.Worthington Steel’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

About Worthington Steel

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.