Zacks Research Predicts Reduced Earnings for Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Steel Dynamics in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the basic materials company will earn $1.39 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.41. The consensus estimate for Steel Dynamics' current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Steel Dynamics' FY2027 earnings at $13.36 EPS.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.56.

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Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.00. 1,435,391 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,393,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.29 and a 200 day moving average of $128.31.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 27.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $2,021,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 3.1% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,177 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,544,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,981 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.