Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on STLD. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.9 %

STLD opened at $117.21 on Wednesday. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

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.