Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 changing hands.

The basic materials company reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STLD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eudaimonia Partners LLC raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 118.9% during the 1st quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 13,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 7,467 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,201,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $869,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 916.8% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.03.

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.