Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Overweight” Rating

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $158.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $145.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.67.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $125.03 on Friday. 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 $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,426,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,007 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $409,816,000 after purchasing an additional 815,629 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 116.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $642,033,000 after purchasing an additional 451,630 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.