Legal & General Group Plc Sells 53,789 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 634,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 53,789 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.44% of Steel Dynamics worth $145,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,844,501,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,623,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,926,000 after buying an additional 9,959 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $586,702,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,590,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,965,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $332,985,000 after acquiring an additional 116,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP James Stanley Anderson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.70, for a total transaction of $2,687,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 102,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,632,301.90. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $256.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $270.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $275.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.27.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $235.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 3.18. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.88 and a 52-week high of $288.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $242.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.55.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.56 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 17.16 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 19.22%.

Steel Dynamics Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a U.S.-based, diversified steel producer and metals recycler that operates an integrated network of mini-mills, finishing lines and fabrication facilities. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company manufactures a broad range of steel products and provides downstream processing, coating and fabrication services to industrial customers. Its operations combine steelmaking using electric-arc furnaces with extensive metals recycling capabilities, allowing Steel Dynamics to convert scrap ferrous and nonferrous materials into finished steel products.

The company’s product portfolio includes flat-rolled steel (coiled and sheet products), structural steel and fabricated components, along with coated and painted steel used in consumer, industrial and construction applications.