Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Holdings Lessened by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,576 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Steel Dynamics worth $9,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of STLD stock opened at $133.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.08. 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 issued its 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.78%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics 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.