Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Updates Q1 Earnings Guidance

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.36-1.40 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.47.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD traded down $4.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.53. 979,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,368,574. The company has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.98. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STLD. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business'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 owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

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.