Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 530,069 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,653 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Worthington Steel were worth $18,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WS. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 695.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 969,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,475,000 after purchasing an additional 847,981 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 51.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 609,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,532,000 after purchasing an additional 206,778 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 154.3% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 340,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,165,000 after purchasing an additional 206,752 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 150.4% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 314,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,557,000 after purchasing an additional 188,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windsor Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel during the third quarter worth about $4,058,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of NYSE WS opened at $37.75 on Friday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.23 and a 1 year high of $49.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.69.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.20). Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 3.64%.The business had revenue of $769.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp started coverage on Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott J. Kelly acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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. This represents a 76.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon J. Bowsher acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.