Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Down 3.3% – Should You Sell?

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares fell 3.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $123.52 and last traded at $122.96. 128,836 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,355,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 266,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,600,000 after purchasing an additional 10,758 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.6% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $95,000. Institutional investors 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.