Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $126.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.04 and its 200 day moving average is $126.24. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. 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.