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

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.8889.

Several research firms have recently commented on STLD. UBS Group set a $165.00 target price on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $172.00 target price on Steel Dynamics and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $172.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 8,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $1,343,180.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 117,068 shares in the company, valued at $19,057,499.72. This represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STLD. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $543,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 135.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 41,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 24,046 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $540,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,386 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 13.5% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 36,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,025,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $177.69 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $160.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.37. Steel Dynamics has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $179.51.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 6.39%.The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.49%.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a U.S.-based, diversified steel producer and metals recycler that operates an integrated network of mini-mills, finishing lines and fabrication facilities. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company manufactures a broad range of steel products and provides downstream processing, coating and fabrication services to industrial customers. Its operations combine steelmaking using electric-arc furnaces with extensive metals recycling capabilities, allowing Steel Dynamics to convert scrap ferrous and nonferrous materials into finished steel products.

The company’s product portfolio includes flat-rolled steel (coiled and sheet products), structural steel and fabricated components, along with coated and painted steel used in consumer, industrial and construction applications.