Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $10.56 Million in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 92,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Steel Dynamics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $135.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.46. 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 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STLD. StockNews.com downgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.