Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $146.22.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on STLD shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

STLD opened at $133.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

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

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.