Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 92,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 27,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. MMCAP International Inc. SPC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $2,966,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,027,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $117,189,000 after acquiring an additional 114,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $135.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.39 and its 200 day moving average is $127.46.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. 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 1.48%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s 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 $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.