Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $2.95 Million in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,844 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,948,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,688,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $419,697,000 after purchasing an additional 30,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $336,426,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $289,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,487,000 after acquiring an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $156,836,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 8.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded down $11.30 on Thursday, reaching $116.06. 1,878,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,459,055. The business's 50 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 company has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

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.