Wells Fargo & Company Increases Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target to $150.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its target price for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) from $143.00 to $150.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81% from its current price.
• Analysts generally favor the stock, with nine ratings for Buy and three for Hold, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.40.
• Steel Dynamics reported a net margin of 6.07% and earnings of $2.01 per share, falling short of analyst expectations while experiencing a 1.5% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $143.00 to $150.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.40.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of STLD traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $139.91. 702,564 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,542. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.11 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 current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $129.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.17.

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). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company 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 was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $1,520,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 35.9% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.6% in 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. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.