Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.63.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of STLD traded down $1.80 on Friday, hitting $136.90. 1,273,870 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,742. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for 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 company's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. This represents a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9,465.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 18,844 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 18,647 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 230,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,904,000 after purchasing an additional 19,853 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 38,355 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,836,000 after purchasing an additional 6,779 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 481.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 328,795 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,461,000 after purchasing an additional 272,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $640,000. 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.