Zacks Research Predicts Stronger Earnings for Steel Dynamics

Key Points

• Analysts at Zacks Research have increased their FY2025 earnings per share forecast for Steel Dynamics from $8.37 to $8.50, although the consensus estimate for the current full-year earnings stands at $9.01 per share.
• Steel Dynamics reported Q2 earnings of $2.01 per share, which was below the consensus estimate of $2.05; revenue for the quarter was $4.57 billion, below expectations of $4.82 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, payable on October 10th to stockholders of record on September 30th.

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) - Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $8.50 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $8.37. The consensus estimate for Steel Dynamics' current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Steel Dynamics' Q3 2026 earnings at $3.38 EPS.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on STLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.70.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded up $2.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $128.22. 1,572,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,736. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.38. Steel Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $103.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 24.4% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 31.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 6,604 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,495,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 124.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $1,520,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This trade represents a 15.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total value of $168,173.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

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.