OFI Invest Asset Management Takes $3.61 Million Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,608,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 57,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $16,495,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 6,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $125.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.74.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.67.

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.