Head-To-Head Contrast: Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) & Stelco (OTCMKTS:STZHF)

Stelco (OTCMKTS:STZHF) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Stelco and Steel Dynamics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stelco	N/A	N/A	N/A
Steel Dynamics	12.89%	27.62%	16.14%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Stelco and Steel Dynamics’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stelco	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Steel Dynamics	$18.80 billion	1.11	$2.45 billion	$14.56	9.11

Steel Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than Stelco.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.4% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Stelco and Steel Dynamics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stelco	0	2	0	0	2.00
Steel Dynamics	1	4	1	0	2.00

Stelco currently has a consensus price target of $43.33, indicating a potential upside of 50.20%. Steel Dynamics has a consensus price target of $121.17, indicating a potential downside of 8.62%. Given Stelco’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Stelco is more favorable than Steel Dynamics.

Summary

Steel Dynamics beats Stelco on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stelco

Stelco Holdings Inc. engages in the production and sale of steel products in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It offers flat-rolled value-added steel, including coated, pre-painted, cold-rolled, and hot-rolled sheet products, as well as pig iron and metallurgical coke. The company sells its products to customers in the construction, automotive, energy, appliance, and pipe and tube industries, as well as steel service centers. Stelco Holdings Inc. was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Canada.

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. This segment also engages in turning, polishing, straightening, chamfering, precision saw-cutting, and heat treating of bar products. Its products are used in construction, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, heavy and agriculture equipment, and pipe and tube markets. The Metals Recycling Operations segment is involved in the ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal processing, transportation, marketing, brokerage, and scrap management services. Its ferrous products include heavy melting steel, busheling, bundled scrap, shredded scrap, steel turnings, and cast-iron products; and nonferrous products comprise aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, and other nonferrous metals. The Steel Fabrication Operations segment produces steel non-residential building components, such as steel joists, girders, trusses, and steel deck products for non-residential steel fabricators, metal building companies, general construction contractors, developers, owners, brokers, and governmental entities, as well as e-commerce warehouses, data centers, metal buildings, and education and commercial building projects. The Aluminum Operations segment offers recycled aluminum flat rolled products. The company also exports its products. Steel Dynamics, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.