Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $134.16, but opened at $141.06. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $136.22, with a volume of 417,650 shares.

The basic materials company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 29.49% and a net margin of 13.04%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 EPS. Steel Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on STLD. UBS Group decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,745,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,574,000 after acquiring an additional 12,208 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,612,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,105,000 after buying an additional 19,833 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,024,978 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,118,000 after buying an additional 122,507 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 165.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,014,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $212,447,000 after buying an additional 1,255,751 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $221,817,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $136.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.97. The company has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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.