Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,041 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of STLD stock traded up $2.05 on Wednesday, hitting $128.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,170,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,218. The company's 50 day moving average price is $125.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.61. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

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.