Steel Dynamics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:STLD)

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 11,772 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 760% compared to the average volume of 1,369 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares in the company, valued at $19,523,371.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total value of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,306,106. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steel Dynamics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Regal Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $6,767,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 266,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,600,000 after buying an additional 10,758 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $379,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STLD. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.29.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded up $13.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.63. 1,035,797 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,296. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $153.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $124.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 16.65%.

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.