Financial Survey: Nippon Steel (OTCMKTS:NPSCY) versus Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS)

Nippon Steel (OTCMKTS:NPSCY) and Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Nippon Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Worthington Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Nippon Steel pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nippon Steel and Worthington Steel’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nippon Steel	$59.04 billion	0.37	$5.14 billion	$1.45	5.25
Worthington Steel	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Nippon Steel has higher revenue and earnings than Worthington Steel.

Profitability

This table compares Nippon Steel and Worthington Steel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nippon Steel	7.19%	12.53%	6.05%
Worthington Steel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Nippon Steel and Worthington Steel, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nippon Steel	0	0	0	0	N/A
Worthington Steel	0	1	1	0	2.50

Worthington Steel has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.37%. Given Worthington Steel’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Worthington Steel is more favorable than Nippon Steel.

Summary

Nippon Steel beats Worthington Steel on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nippon Steel

Nippon Steel Corporation engages in steelmaking and steel fabrication, engineering and construction, chemicals and materials, and system solutions businesses in Japan and internationally. The company offers steel plates, sheets, and slags; bar and rod materials; structural steel; pipes and tubes; titanium and stainless products; and railway, automotive, and machinery parts for applications in automotive, energy, infrastructure, and consumer electronics markets. It is also involved in construction; waste processing and recycling; supplying electricity, gas, and heat; and the provision of coal-based chemical products, petrochemicals, electronic materials, materials and components for semiconductors and electronic parts, carbon fiber, and composite products. In addition, the company offers computer systems engineering and consulting, IT-enabled outsourcing, and other services. The company was formerly known as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation and changed its name to Nippon Steel Corporation in April 2019. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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. Worthington Steel, Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.