Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Raised to “Buy” at UBS Group

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $149.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.41% from the company’s previous close.

STLD has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $128.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.43. Steel Dynamics has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

About Steel Dynamics

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.