Erste Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 71.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,095 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD traded up $1.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,888,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,366,599. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.98.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STLD. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.56.

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.