Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Price

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $145.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.33% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on STLD. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD stock opened at $119.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.36. Steel Dynamics has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.74.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,523,371.37. The trade was a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,138,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $276,891,000 after acquiring an additional 140,042 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,768,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,999,000 after purchasing an additional 22,390 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,546,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,933,000 after purchasing an additional 96,122 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares in the last quarter. 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.