Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Raised to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $149.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on STLD. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $128.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.43. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.