Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Worthington Steel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Worthington Steel in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Worthington Steel in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Worthington Steel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Worthington Steel Stock Down 0.2%

WS opened at $28.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Worthington Steel has a fifty-two week low of $21.30 and a fifty-two week high of $49.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.77 and a 200-day moving average of $35.61.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Worthington Steel will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Worthington Steel news, Director Jon J. Bowsher bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.15 per share, for a total transaction of $100,375.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,403.95. The trade was a 16.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott J. Kelly bought 7,000 shares of Worthington Steel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.11 per share, for a total transaction of $273,770.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,157 shares in the company, valued at $631,900.27. This represents a 76.44% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 20,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Worthington Steel by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Worthington Steel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16/share (annualized yield ~2.1%), which supports shareholder income and signals management’s confidence in cash flow. MarketBeat WS page
• Positive Sentiment: Worthington is pursuing a strategic acquisition of Kloeckner with a target close in H2 2026; management highlighted automotive share gains and AI-driven transformation as growth levers — a potential long-term revenue/margin booster if integration goes well. Acquisition article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker coverage initiated by KeyCorp (initiation can increase visibility and trading liquidity); check the initiation note for rating/price-target details once available. KeyCorp initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript, slide deck and presentations are available for details on segment performance, margin drivers and management commentary — useful for judging forward guidance and integration plans. Earnings transcript Press release / slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed materially: GAAP EPS $0.27 vs. consensus ~$0.47 and revenue $769.8M vs. ~$883M — the earnings and revenue shortfall is the primary catalyst for the stock weakness as it raises concerns about near-term margins and demand timing. Zacks earnings coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary and pre-market stories flagged the downbeat results and put the stock under selling pressure; some retail/idea pieces call out a double-digit intraday decline, amplifying negative sentiment and volume. MSN market reaction AAII note

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.