New Century Financial Group LLC Invests $246,000 in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth $26,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD stock opened at $127.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.25 and a 12-month high of $151.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $119.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.62. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.05. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 12.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on STLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Steel Dynamics from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.71.

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.