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Worthington Industries Scales New 52-Week High of $39.75

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Shares of Worthington Industries Inc. (WOR - Free Report) touched a new 52-week high of $39.75 yesterday before retracing to end the day at $39.61.
 
Worthington Industries, which has a market cap of about $2.47 billion, has delivered a year-to-date return of roughly 32.05%, much higher than the S&P 500’s corresponding return of around 4.2%. Average volume of shares traded over the last three months is roughly 372.9K.
 
What Drove the Stock?
 
The metal processing company reported third-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings of 46 cents a share, up 18% from the adjusted earnings of 39 cents in the year ago quarter. On a reported basis, including impairment and restructuring charges, the company had suffered a loss of 39 cents per share in the prior year quarter. The company’s bottom line improved in the reported quarter despite a 20% year over year drop in revenues to $647 million.
 
Worthington Industries has been focusing on the expansion of its business. It closed the acquisition of the global CryoScience business of Taylor Wharton, which filed for bankruptcy worth $31.4 million. The company also purchased NetBraze LLC, a manufacturer of brazing alloys.
 
Additionally, it acquired operating control of the WSP joint venture with United States Steel Corp. (X - Free Report) . Recently, the company inked a partnership with Cryoport Inc (CYRX - Free Report) to manufacture and supply biostorage and logistics equipment for use by Cryoport’s logistic solutions. 
 
Worthington Industries aims to provide high returns to its shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. The company bought back common shares worth $28.4 million in the last reported quarter. It also declared a quarterly dividend of 19 cents a share, payable on Jun 29, 2016. 
 
Worthington Industries expects stabilization in the steel industry based on strength in the automotive and construction markets. It has recorded favorable initial results under new management at its Pressure Cylinders business segment from the lean activities for its Transformation 2.0 initiative. The company intends to use previously tested fundamental principles to accelerate work in more locations. 
 
Worthington Industries currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 
 
Stock to Consider
 
A better-ranked company in the same space is Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (KALU - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 
 
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