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 the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the February 28th total of 3,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STLD. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,385,000 after buying an additional 10,716 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $570,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,786,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,703,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on STLD shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

STLD stock traded up $3.36 on Wednesday, hitting $127.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,261,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,455,235. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.98. 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 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

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.