Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target Raised to $140.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $132.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on STLD. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $120.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG 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 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $126.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.80.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.2% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 10.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.