Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $146.22.

Several analysts have commented on STLD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of STLD stock traded down $4.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $130.71. 1,398,713 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,755,295. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $123.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.80. Steel Dynamics has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,725,000. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 35,299 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 18,844 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 18,647 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.