Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,971 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $125.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.44 and a 200-day moving average of $127.80. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.