Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS Shares Acquired by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 70.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,082 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.08% of Worthington Steel worth $1,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 2.2% in 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 period. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $7,163,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Worthington Steel by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,287,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,438,000 after purchasing an additional 217,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Price Performance

WS stock opened at $39.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 2.23. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.23 and a 1 year high of $49.17.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $769.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.95 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Worthington Steel’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio is 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Worthington Steel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel 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.