Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) to Buyback $1.50 billion in Outstanding Shares

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $133.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $124.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.98. Steel Dynamics has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. 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 announced its earnings results 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 period last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.