Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $122.37, but opened at $126.70. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $123.36, with a volume of 152,472 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on STLD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.38.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.0 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 18.78%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,306,106. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,650 shares of company stock worth $1,498,170. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Columbus Macro LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.