Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Given New $132.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $134.00 to $132.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company's stock.

STLD has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.88.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $125.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,359,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,360. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 9.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. This trade represents a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,885,938 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

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.