Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Receives $149.67 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.11.

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $118.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 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 released its quarterly 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.