Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Short Interest Update

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,340,000 shares, a drop of 15.9% from the February 13th total of 3,970,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Steel Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $128.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.89 and a 200 day moving average of $127.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted 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 firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.