Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Receives $148.56 Consensus PT from Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $148.56.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $128.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.