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

Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $148.56.

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $642,033,000 after purchasing an additional 451,630 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,688,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $419,697,000 after purchasing an additional 30,350 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $409,816,000 after buying an additional 815,629 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,179,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $362,636,000 after buying an additional 393,516 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $336,426,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $127.14 on Monday. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its 200-day moving average is $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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

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.