Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stake Lowered by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,661 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,007 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 192.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,577,000 after buying an additional 164,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,495,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

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

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its 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 previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

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.