Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

STLD stock opened at $132.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.44. Steel Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released 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 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.