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

Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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 trading hands.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $222,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 19.2% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 11.1% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 49,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,349,000 after buying an additional 4,946 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 7.1% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 16,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

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

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.