UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Boosts Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on STLD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD stock opened at $123.97 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.80. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month 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.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.