Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 144,604 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $16,495,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of Steel Dynamics as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of STLD stock traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $122.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,292,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,605. The stock has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. 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 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.98.

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Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on STLD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

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.