Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $129.86, but opened at $138.41. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $136.38, with a volume of 349,932 shares changing hands.

The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 22.89%. Steel Dynamics’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.47 EPS.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 1.31.

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.