Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Price

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $145.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.33% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research note on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $119.81 on Monday. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.03 and its 200-day moving average is $126.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. This represents a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,306,106. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,885,938 in the last 90 days. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third 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 period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is 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.