AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 250.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. UBS Group reiterated 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 upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $127.14 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.89. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

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

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.