Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $145.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $135.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on STLD. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of STLD opened at $125.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.90. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. 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 $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STLD. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.