Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.17% from the company’s previous close.

STLD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp raised 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. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.11.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of STLD opened at $118.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $126.17 and its 200-day moving average is $128.60. Steel Dynamics has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

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.