Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 93 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $5,883,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $158,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 96,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,034,000 after purchasing an additional 28,600 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $13,283,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ STLD opened at $133.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.17. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.