Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $175.52 and last traded at $175.8430, with a volume of 210148 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $172.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $155.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.89.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.4%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $158.07 and its 200 day moving average is $141.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.47.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 6.39%.The business’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 26.49%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 8,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $1,343,180.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 117,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,057,499.72. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 7.6% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 287,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,993,000 after buying an additional 24,910 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 154,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,307,000 after buying an additional 9,753 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 203.2% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,380,000 after buying an additional 23,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 48.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% 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.