Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,914,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 505,637 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $332,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $118.29 on Monday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 20.41%.

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.