Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target Raised to $145.00 at Morgan Stanley

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.4 %

STLD opened at $129.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.26. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 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 announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.78%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 116.5% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after buying an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 192.4% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,577,000 after buying an additional 164,895 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $15,880,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.