Worthington Steel (NYSE:WS) and General Steel (OTCMKTS:GSIH) Critical Contrast

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Worthington Steel and General Steel, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Worthington Steel	0	1	1	0	2.50
General Steel	0	0	0	0	0.00

Worthington Steel presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.30%. Given Worthington Steel’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Worthington Steel is more favorable than General Steel.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Worthington Steel	3.71%	12.14%	7.34%
General Steel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Worthington Steel and General Steel”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Worthington Steel	$3.36 billion	0.52	$154.70 million	$2.85	11.96
General Steel	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Worthington Steel has higher revenue and earnings than General Steel.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.4% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Worthington Steel shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 53.3% of General Steel shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Worthington Steel beats General Steel on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About General Steel

General Steel Holdings, Inc. engages in the business of cell research, development, storage, and cell culture service in the People's Republic of China. General Steel Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.