Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 259.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,931 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 3.3 %

Steel Dynamics stock traded up $3.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $126.66. 2,213,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,395,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $128.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.31. The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

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Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in 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 usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STLD. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.