Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Trading Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares rose 4.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $121.66 and last traded at $121.57. Approximately 185,332 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,561,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 4.8 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,306,106. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. The trade was a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938 over the last ninety days. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.