Franklin Resources Inc. Has $34.66 Million Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,856 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 108,681 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.20% of Steel Dynamics worth $34,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Partners in Financial Planning bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $856,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $358,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 450 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $498,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 63.4% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ STLD traded down $6.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $115.72. 469,295 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,872. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The business's 50-day moving average is $126.93 and its 200-day moving average is $128.77.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is 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.