Capital Research Global Investors Grows Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 815,629 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $409,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.11.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $118.29 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. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.40.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.69%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.