DnB Asset Management AS Sells 27,789 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

DnB Asset Management AS lowered its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 48.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,789 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $3,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Steel Dynamics Stock Down 8.9 %

Shares of STLD stock traded down $11.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $116.06. 1,878,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,459,054. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $128.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.97. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research 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 research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

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.