Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $123.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.46 and a 200-day moving average of $128.52. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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 for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.