Wambolt & Associates LLC Trims Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,699 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,807 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd 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 period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.56.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock traded down $4.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,337,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,366. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.66. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G 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.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.61%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.