Partners in Financial Planning Acquires New Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Partners in Financial Planning bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $856,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

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Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Steel Dynamics stock traded up $3.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,455,241. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $128.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.