Worthington stock is up 20% on Thursday: explained here

Worthington Industries Inc (NYSE: WOR) is trading about 20% up this morning after reporting strong results for its fiscal third quarter.

Worthington declares quarterly dividend

Shares of the metals manufacturing company are up also because it announced a quarterly dividend of 31 cents per share.

For Q3, Worthington reported $1.04 of adjusted per-share earnings versus 73 cents a share expected. $1.1 billion in revenue also topped estimates for under a billion dollar. In the earnings press release, CEO B. Andrew Rose said:

We have good momentum heading into our fourth quarter and are optimistic that underlying demand for our key end markets will remain healthy.

Versus the start of 2023, Worthington stock is up 35% at writing. Wall Street currently has a consensus “hold” rating on WOR.

What else was noteworthy?

Other notable figures in the earnings report include a 28% year-on-year decline in Steel Processing to $757 million related primarily to lower average selling prices.

Last year, Worthington announced plans of separating its Steel Processing business into a standalone public company in 2024. According to CEO Rose:

We recently announced future senior leadership teams for both companies. We remain confident that separation will create two, distinct, market-leading companies that’ll generate long-term value for our shareholders.

Lastly, gross margin remained roughly flat in the recent quarter as higher manufacturing expenses offset higher spreads in Steel Processing. Worthington ended the quarter with $267 million in cash.