Steel Dynamics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:STLD)

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 7,973 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 203% compared to the average daily volume of 2,632 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.13.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $123.52 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.54. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 16.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. The trade was a 10.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,885,938 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by 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.