Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $149.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on STLD. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 3.3 %

STLD stock opened at $126.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. 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 has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.29 and its 200-day moving average is $128.31.

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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $336,426,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $409,816,000 after acquiring an additional 815,629 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $642,033,000 after purchasing an additional 451,630 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.