Aigen Investment Management LP Raises Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 117.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.22.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $125.25 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.61. 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 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.