Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,187 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Steel Dynamics worth $12,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,619 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,217,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,456,005. 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 market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50-day moving average is $128.43 and its 200 day moving average is $128.98. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication 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.