Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STLD. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 192.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,577,000 after buying an additional 164,895 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $128.52 on Thursday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.