Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Short Interest Up 24.2% in December

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,750,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the December 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STLD. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.27. 162,919 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,571,709. The company has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Steel Dynamics has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Steel Dynamics will post 9.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 16.65%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.