Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stake Lessened by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 29.5% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 89,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,245,000 after purchasing an additional 20,316 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of STLD stock opened at $140.69 on Tuesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.14. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. Steel Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 16.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on STLD shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,106. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,723,707. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,608,438. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

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.