Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56.

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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.88.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,106. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,650 shares of company stock worth $1,498,170. Insiders own 6.10% 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.