Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on STLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock traded up $1.75 on Wednesday, reaching $135.07. 1,695,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,753,301. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.39 and a 200 day moving average of $127.37. 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 $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 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.