Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Worthington Steel, Inc. (NYSE:WS) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,118 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Worthington Steel were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 44.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 68,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 21,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Worthington Steel by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 771,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,240,000 after purchasing an additional 41,925 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Worthington Steel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $649,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Worthington Steel by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 26,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Worthington Steel by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.41% of the company’s stock.

Worthington Steel Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WS opened at $24.10 on Wednesday. Worthington Steel, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.30 and a twelve month high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.85.

Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $687.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $732.00 million. Worthington Steel had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Worthington Steel, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Worthington Steel Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Worthington Steel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Worthington Steel from $41.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th.

About Worthington Steel

Worthington Steel, Inc operates as a steel processor in North America. It offers carbon flat-rolled steel and tailor welded blanks, as well as electrical steel laminations; and aluminum tailor welded blanks. The company serves various end-markets, including automotive, heavy truck, agriculture, construction, and energy.