Brokerages Set Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) PT at $144.25

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.25.

STLD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of STLD stock opened at $113.15 on Wednesday. Steel Dynamics has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $132.68 and a 200-day moving average of $126.84.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 10.09 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,306,106. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,885,938. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 33.3% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 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.