Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stock Position Lowered by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 59.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,572 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STLD. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $495,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,055,000 after buying an additional 27,989 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STLD traded down $1.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $123.31. The stock had a trading volume of 559,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,293. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm posted $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.67.

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.