Allianz SE Takes $358,000 Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during 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 period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.67.

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Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 8.0 %

NASDAQ:STLD traded down $10.24 on Thursday, hitting $117.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,138,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,456,265. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $128.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.97. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics 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.