Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 10,901 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,585 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,901 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Steel Dynamics worth $41,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 7.5 %

STLD stock traded down $9.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $117.80. The company had a trading volume of 854,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,455,136. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

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 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.