Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $180.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Steel Dynamics traded as high as $156.24 and last traded at $153.82, with a volume of 2893866 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $146.28.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $155.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $158.00 target price on Steel Dynamics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.33.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $1,520,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,456,371.98. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 493.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.51. The stock has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 6.39%.The company’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.49%.

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.