CenterBook Partners LP Buys New Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,699 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $650,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $1,725,000. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 35,299 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 27,373 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $119.20. 401,531 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,499,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $125.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.53.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.11.

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.