Steel Dynamics (STLD) Competitors

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Nucor (NYSE:NUE) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, community ranking, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of STLD or NUE?

82.4% of Steel Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.5% of Nucor shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of Steel Dynamics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Nucor shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor STLD or NUE?

In the previous week, Nucor had 3 more articles in the media than Steel Dynamics. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Nucor and 33 mentions for Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics' average media sentiment score of 0.62 beat Nucor's score of 0.03 indicating that Steel Dynamics is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Steel Dynamics	10 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Nucor	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk & volatility, STLD or NUE?

Steel Dynamics has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nucor has a beta of 1.55, indicating that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is STLD or NUE a better dividend stock?

Steel Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nucor pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Steel Dynamics pays out 16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nucor pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Steel Dynamics has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Nucor has increased its dividend for 51 consecutive years. Nucor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is STLD or NUE more profitable?

Steel Dynamics has a net margin of 9.80% compared to Nucor's net margin of 8.05%. Steel Dynamics' return on equity of 19.82% beat Nucor's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Steel Dynamics	9.80%	19.82%	11.57%
Nucor	8.05%	12.06%	7.63%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer STLD or NUE?

Steel Dynamics received 150 more outperform votes than Nucor when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.69% of users gave Steel Dynamics an outperform vote while only 64.42% of users gave Nucor an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Steel Dynamics	Outperform Votes 838 67.69%	Underperform Votes 400 32.31%
Nucor	Outperform Votes 688 64.42%	Underperform Votes 380 35.58%

Do analysts rate STLD or NUE?

Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus target price of $144.25, indicating a potential upside of 24.69%. Nucor has a consensus target price of $173.75, indicating a potential upside of 49.04%. Given Nucor's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Nucor is more favorable than Steel Dynamics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Steel Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Nucor	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78

Which has better earnings and valuation, STLD or NUE?

Nucor has higher revenue and earnings than Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nucor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Steel Dynamics	$17.90B	0.98	$2.45B	$11.05	10.47
Nucor	$31.36B	0.87	$4.52B	$10.35	11.26

Summary

Steel Dynamics and Nucor tied by winning 11 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.