Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $175.52 and last traded at $175.8430, with a volume of 210148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on STLD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday. UBS Group set a $165.00 price objective on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.89.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $158.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Steel Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.49%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 8,251 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $1,343,180.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 117,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,057,499.72. The trade was a 6.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1,636.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 306.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.