Investors Buy Large Volume of Steel Dynamics Call Options (NASDAQ:STLD)

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 7,973 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 203% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,632 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $125.04. 511,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,677,003. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.49. The firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Steel Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. Steel Dynamics’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $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.