Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Short Interest Update

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the January 15th total of 3,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.37. The stock had a trading volume of 785,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,408. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.1% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 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.