Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Receives $144.25 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.25.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on STLD shares. Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares in the company, valued at $19,523,371.37. The trade was a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after acquiring an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $650,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $113.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.82. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

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.