Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $134.16, but opened at $141.06. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $136.22, with a volume of 417,650 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 27.83% and a net margin of 12.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STLD. Citigroup upped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eudaimonia Partners LLC increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 118.9% in the 1st quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 13,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 7,467 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,201,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 16.9% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $869,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 916.8% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.03.

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.