Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.56.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $122.67 on Monday. 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 has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.22 and its 200 day moving average is $128.20.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.