Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 10,901 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 360,585 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,901 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $41,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 3.1 %

STLD opened at $123.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.66. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.