Steel Dynamics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:STLD)

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 11,772 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 760% compared to the average daily volume of 1,369 call options.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 10.3 %

NASDAQ:STLD traded up $13.98 on Wednesday, hitting $149.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,035,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,296. The company has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.31. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $153.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $124.24 and its 200 day moving average is $126.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,306,106. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on STLD. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.29.

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.