Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Reduces Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $109.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.07. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. 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 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.