Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on STLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.1 %

STLD opened at $133.32 on Thursday. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.17. The firm has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.