Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33), Zacks reports. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ STLD traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.89. 1,865,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,715,597. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.30 and its 200-day moving average is $126.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.65%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,498,170 in the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on STLD. Bank of America upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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, BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

About Steel Dynamics

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.