Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 150,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 105,639 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $17,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.2 %

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $135.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 1.35. 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 twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.46.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on STLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.