Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $145.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $125.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.49% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.38.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $122.37 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.61 and a 200-day moving average of $126.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,498,170. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.