AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 528,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 52,897 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.35% of Steel Dynamics worth $60,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,725,000. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 35,299 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9,465.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 18,844 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 18,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $136.76. 1,486,050 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,826,197. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $123.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.68. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. 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 company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.35.

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 (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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.