Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $147.44.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 493.9% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 194.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $130.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.13. Steel Dynamics has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 26.42%.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.