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

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.33.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STLD. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $1,013,773.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 125,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,950,647.94. This trade represents a 5.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 318 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ STLD traded down $1.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $130.72. 1,216,541 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,503. The company has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

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

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.