Inspire Investing LLC Trims Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,956 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,007 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $15,880,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 416,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,149,000 after purchasing an additional 112,240 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $122.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $127.92 and a 200-day moving average of $126.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on STLD. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This represents a 10.47 % 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,498,170 over the last 90 days. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics 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.