Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group updated shares from Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD – Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $145.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $129.00.

STLD has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a hold rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $141.86.

Read the latest stock report on STLD

Steel Dynamics trading down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $113.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.78 and its 200-day moving average is $130.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.35, and a quick ratio of 1.19. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $95.53 and a 1 year high of $151.34. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD – Get Your Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.05. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted EPS of $4.81. Steel Dynamics’ revenue fell 8.8% year over year. On average, research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.84 and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.64%.

Institutional investors weigh in on steel dynamics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,817,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 481.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 328,795 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,461,000 after purchasing an additional 272,226 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 65.3% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 571,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,064,000 after buying an additional 225,832 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth $32,178,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 21.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,137,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,550,000 after buying an additional 202,312 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Steel Dynamics

(Get a free report)

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 products, alloy intermediate hardness and premium grade rail products; specialty bar quality products, merchant bar quality products and other engineered steel round bars; channels, angles, planes, commercial rounds and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and mild structural steel products.

Further reading

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