Steel Dynamics (STLD) Competitors

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Do analysts rate STLD or LIN?

Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus price target of $149.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.00%. Linde has a consensus price target of $518.80, suggesting a potential upside of 10.28%. Given Steel Dynamics' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Steel Dynamics is more favorable than Linde.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Steel Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73
Linde	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is STLD or LIN more profitable?

Linde has a net margin of 20.02% compared to Steel Dynamics' net margin of 6.80%. Linde's return on equity of 18.95% beat Steel Dynamics' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Steel Dynamics	6.80%	13.26%	7.60%
Linde	20.02%	18.95%	9.26%

Is STLD or LIN a better dividend stock?

Steel Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Steel Dynamics pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde pays out 43.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Steel Dynamics has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Linde has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Steel Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, STLD or LIN?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Steel Dynamics	$17.54B	1.14	$1.54B	$7.57	17.77
Linde	$33.01B	6.71	$6.57B	$13.77	34.16

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in STLD or LIN?

82.4% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Linde shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor STLD or LIN?

In the previous week, Linde had 11 more articles in the media than Steel Dynamics. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Linde and 27 mentions for Steel Dynamics. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.53 beat Steel Dynamics' score of 1.26 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Steel Dynamics	19 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Linde	34 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, STLD or LIN?

Steel Dynamics has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Linde beats Steel Dynamics on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.