Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stake Lowered by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 607 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $3,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ STLD opened at $134.86 on Wednesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.36. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on STLD shares. StockNews.com lowered Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp raised shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.22.

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.