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

StockNews.com cut shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on STLD. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.13.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $129.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $124.76 and its 200 day moving average is $126.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 18.78%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,101 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STLD. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $2,049,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 196.8% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 5,954 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.