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

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 company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.44.

STLD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $133.12 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.42%.

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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