Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $130.71, but opened at $134.68. Steel Dynamics shares last traded at $132.30, with a volume of 223,083 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 18.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $123.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 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.