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

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $145.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $135.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.94% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on STLD. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of STLD stock opened at $124.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.98.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.