Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised the price target for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) from $150.00 to $160.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.13% from its previous close.
• The company has received mixed ratings from analysts, with eight giving a Buy rating and four a Hold rating, resulting in an average target price of $149.89.
• Steel Dynamics reported a Q2 earnings miss with an EPS of $2.01, below the analyst consensus of $2.05, and a decline in quarterly revenue by 1.5% year-over-year.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.13% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.89.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ STLD traded up $4.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $145.29. The stock had a trading volume of 29,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,114. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.25 and a 200 day moving average of $129.94. The stock has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40. Steel Dynamics has a 52-week low of $103.17 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $1,520,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. The trade was 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. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at $339,769,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 433.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,816,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $227,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475,767 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,066,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $883,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,897 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 531.0% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,191,669 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $149,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,813 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,088,372 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $271,238,000 after acquiring an additional 630,935 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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