Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Price

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $160.00 to $145.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 25.33% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on STLD. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.25.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $115.69 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 $136.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.58. 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 $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 146,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. The trade was a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 33.3% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter worth $52,000. 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.