Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New Investment in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 203,841 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $23,252,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned about 0.13% of Steel Dynamics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STLD. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.11.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,049,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,314. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate 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.