Wall Street Zen Upgrades Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Steel Dynamics to “strong-buy” from “buy.” Other analysts remain generally positive, with eight Buy ratings and four Holds, a “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $258.45.
• Steel Dynamics reported quarterly earnings of $3.69 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.63, while revenue reached $6.09 billion and increased 33.4% year over year.
• Institutional investors hold 82.41% of the company’s stock, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System and BlackRock making significant position changes.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on STLD. UBS Group increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $165.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $270.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.45.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of STLD stock opened at $239.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.50. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $129.41 and a 12-month high of $288.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $242.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.71.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.56 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 17.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 26,381.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 42,793,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,819,472,000 after purchasing an additional 42,632,231 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $2,844,501,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $586,702,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,590,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $264,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a steel producer and metals recycler headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1993, the company operates electric arc furnaces that use recycled steel and other metallic inputs to manufacture a broad range of steel products. Its customers include companies in the construction, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, energy and appliance industries.

Steel Dynamics' steel operations produce flat-rolled steel, structural steel, rail, engineered bar products and other specialty steel products.

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