Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,476,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.97% of Steel Dynamics worth $168,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 287.5% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 76,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,776,000 after purchasing an additional 57,079 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 38,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $342,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

STLD stock opened at $124.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

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.