Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $126.71, but opened at $133.72. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $133.00, with a volume of 467,020 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.38 and a 200 day moving average of $126.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,688,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $419,697,000 after buying an additional 30,350 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,426,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $289,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,007 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,546,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $194,933,000 after purchasing an additional 96,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% in the fourth 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. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.