Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,752 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.15% of Steel Dynamics worth $26,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,036 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock traded up $1.08 on Friday, reaching $118.29. 1,049,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,505,000. The firm's 50 day moving average is $125.36 and its 200-day moving average is $128.40. The firm has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, 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 quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 last year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company's 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 owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.