Steel Dynamics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:STLD)

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 11,772 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 760% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,369 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares in the company, valued at $19,523,371.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,306,106. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth $41,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 33.3% during the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.29.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD stock traded up $18.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $154.32. The stock had a trading volume of 4,294,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.31. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.38.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.47 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

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.