Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,100 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on STLD. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 target price on Steel Dynamics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.44.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $130.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.13. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The firm has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 26.42%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.