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

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a decrease of 25.8% from the November 15th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 146,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. This trade represents a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938 over the last quarter. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded down $4.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,651,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,278. The firm's fifty day moving average is $137.11 and its 200 day moving average is $127.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.31. Steel Dynamics has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STLD. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $146.13.

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.