Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 56.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,256 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 21.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 448,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,603,000 after acquiring an additional 80,262 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,880,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,330,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

STLD traded up $4.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.38. 1,351,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,881,753. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.17 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.41 and a 200 day moving average of $128.19.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.17 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 1.57%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price target on Steel Dynamics and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 research note on Monday, March 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company'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 $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.