Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Position Lessened by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,342 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $7,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $120.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.60 and a 200-day moving average of $128.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.