Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Short Interest Update

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the February 28th total of 3,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $124.33 on Tuesday. Steel Dynamics has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.90.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

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.