Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Holdings Lowered by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 554,552 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 99,447 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.36% of Steel Dynamics worth $63,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,036 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STLD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded down $7.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.57. 469,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,491,894. The company has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $126.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.