Lbp Am Sa Increases Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Lbp Am Sa grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 173.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,416 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. StockNews.com raised Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $127.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $127.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.82. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 an increase 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 yield of 1.57%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.