Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Holdings Raised by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,546,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,933,000 after purchasing an additional 96,122 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $156,836,000 after purchasing an additional 11,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,027,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $117,189,000 after purchasing an additional 114,485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $122.67 on Friday. 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 $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.00. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.