Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) from $145.00 to $173.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.78% from the current stock price and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Steel Dynamics reported earnings of $2.74 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and the company experienced an 11.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $4.83 billion.
• Aside from Morgan Stanley, other analysts have also adjusted their target prices for Steel Dynamics, with JPMorgan Chase setting a new target of $160.00 and Jefferies Financial Group raising theirs to $180.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the company's performance.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $173.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 14.78% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $155.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $158.00 target price on shares of Steel Dynamics and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.44.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $150.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.51. The stock has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $156.24.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.74 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 6.39%.The company's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $1,520,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This trade represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 493.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

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.

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