Financial Analysis: Worthington Steel (WS) & Its Competitors
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyWorthington Steel (NYSE:WS – Get Free Report) is one of 1,986 public companies in the “Metals & Mining” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Worthington Steel to related businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations for Worthington Steel and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Worthington Steel | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Worthington Steel Competitors | 6338 | 22478 | 32102 | 1769 | 2.47 |
Worthington Steel presently has a consensus price target of $46.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.32%. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies have a potential upside of 16.57%. Given Worthington Steel’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Worthington Steel is more favorable than its peers.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.8% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of shares of all “Metals & Mining” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
Worthington Steel has a beta of 2.24, suggesting that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Worthington Steel’s peers have a beta of 1.02, suggesting that their average share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Worthington Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Worthington Steel pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Metals & Mining” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.5% and pay out 10.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Worthington Steel lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Worthington Steel and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Worthington Steel | $3.44 billion | $8.50 million | 26.62 |
| Worthington Steel Competitors | $4.63 billion | $277.72 million | -28.31 |
Worthington Steel’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Worthington Steel. Worthington Steel is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.
Profitability
This table compares Worthington Steel and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Worthington Steel | 0.50% | 8.87% | 4.89% |
| Worthington Steel Competitors | -1,164,884,689,320,590,400.00% | -48.85% | -2.12% |
Summary
Worthington Steel peers beat Worthington Steel on 8 of the 15 factors compared.
Worthington Steel Company Profile
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. Worthington Steel, Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.