Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 39.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 90,639 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.09% of Steel Dynamics worth $15,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced 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. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price target 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock traded down $8.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $114.54. 548,020 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,492,691. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56.

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 last year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 a positive change 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 1.75%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.