Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued 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 set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $124.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.93. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.