Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 68,775 Shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. $WS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,520,318 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,775 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Worthington Steel were worth $76,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 530,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,653 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,351,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 29.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 201,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,113,000 after purchasing an additional 46,358 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of Worthington Steel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,163,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Worthington Steel by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 238,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,251,000 after buying an additional 46,665 shares during the period. 45.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Worthington Steel

In related news, CFO Timothy A. Adams sold 2,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.27, for a total value of $100,053.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,022.46. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clifford Larivey sold 11,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 64,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,107.72. This represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,708 shares of company stock worth $1,431,830. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Stock Performance

NYSE WS opened at $36.01 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 2.34. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $929.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.00 million. Worthington Steel had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 0.50%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Worthington Steel’s payout ratio is currently 46.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Worthington Steel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Worthington Steel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

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.