Steel Dynamics’ (STLD) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

UBS Group restated their neutral rating on shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $149.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $145.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on STLD. Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.13.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $122.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $137.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.96. Steel Dynamics has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.65%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,763.75. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 116.5% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $650,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,880,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.