Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 78.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,914 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $126.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. 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 posted its earnings results 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.