Short Interest in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Rises By 31.9%

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,970,000 shares, a growth of 31.9% from the January 31st total of 3,010,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $127.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.61.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.