Steel Dynamics (STLD) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, April 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.43 per share and revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. On average, analysts expect Steel Dynamics to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $12 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.4 %

STLD stock opened at $118.75 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $126.39 and its 200 day moving average is $128.68. Steel Dynamics has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. 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 declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STLD. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.67.

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.