Swiss National Bank Cuts Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $47,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’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 value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $127.14 on Monday. 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 $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.89. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics 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.