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

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 7,973 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 203% compared to the average daily volume of 2,632 call options.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. This trade represents a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 28,591 shares of company stock worth $3,885,938 in the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:STLD traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $125.04. 511,685 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.49. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.36. Steel Dynamics has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share 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 company 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 business earned $3.47 EPS. Steel Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.13.

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.