Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Upgraded to Peer Perform 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, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on STLD. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reduced 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 increased 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. StockNews.com cut Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD stock opened at $133.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $125.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.17. 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.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced 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 last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $2,703,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 80,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,195,000 after buying an additional 5,922 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.