Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 3,181 Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third 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 last quarter. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on STLD. Citigroup dropped 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ STLD opened at $123.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.52. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. 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 share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.