Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 57,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $6,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.67.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $125.03 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.25 and a 200-day moving average of $127.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

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.