Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 45,307 Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 45,307 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,180,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 92.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,047 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 99.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 150,738 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,005,000 after buying an additional 75,343 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 72,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,137,000 after purchasing an additional 4,759 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 448,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,603,000 after buying an additional 80,262 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.82 during trading on Monday, reaching $122.23. The company had a trading volume of 139,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,497,962. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.73. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, 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.