OFI Invest Asset Management Makes New Investment in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 32,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,608,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.56.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ STLD traded up $4.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $125.39. 578,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,358,369. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $126.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.80. The company has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. This is an increase 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%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.