Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

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

STLD has been the topic of several other research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.88.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.4 %

STLD opened at $122.37 on Thursday. Steel Dynamics has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.38.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 17.25%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,306,106. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,498,170. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DMC Group LLC boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 35,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 21,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 219,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,990,000 after buying an additional 9,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 37,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,323,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.