ING Groep NV Purchases 20,316 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,316 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.06% of Steel Dynamics worth $11,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 481.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 328,795 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,461,000 after buying an additional 272,226 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 65.3% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 571,787 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,064,000 after purchasing an additional 225,832 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,178,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 21.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,137,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $168,550,000 after purchasing an additional 202,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,670,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,387,767.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. This represents a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,106. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,591 shares of company stock worth $3,608,438 in the last ninety days. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.29.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.2 %

STLD traded up $1.60 on Friday, hitting $139.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,297,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,242. The company has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $128.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.11. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.65%.

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.