Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $7.09 Million Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,185 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,342 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $7,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STLD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $336,426,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 406,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 192,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 192.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,577,000 after purchasing an additional 164,895 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $119.68. The company had a trading volume of 460,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,163. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.53. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research 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.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.11.

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.