Worthington Enterprises (NYSE:WOR) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $41.63, but opened at $43.52. Worthington Enterprises shares last traded at $49.90, with a volume of 317,196 shares changing hands.

The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. Worthington Enterprises had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $304.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Worthington Enterprises’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Worthington Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Worthington Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WOR. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Worthington Enterprises to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Worthington Enterprises from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Worthington Enterprises in the third quarter valued at about $633,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Worthington Enterprises by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,446,000 after acquiring an additional 18,480 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Worthington Enterprises by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 70,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 13,974 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Worthington Enterprises by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 13,097 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Worthington Enterprises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $448,000. 51.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Worthington Enterprises Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.02 and its 200-day moving average is $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.29 and a beta of 1.21.

About Worthington Enterprises

Worthington Enterprises, Inc operates as an industrial manufacturing company. It operates through three segments: Building Products, Consumer Products, and Sustainable Energy Solutions. The Building Products segment sells refrigerant and LPG cylinders, well water and expansion tanks, fire suppression tanks, chemical tanks, and foam and adhesive tanks for gas producers, and distributors.