Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Steel Dynamics, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $148.78.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annual yield of 1.4%.
• Insider trading activity showed SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares for approximately $1.52 million, lowering his ownership in the company by 15.24%.

Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $148.7778.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at $8,456,371.98. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 10.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 6,604 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $144.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.19.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.04). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%.The business had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

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.

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