Korea Investment CORP Trims Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,509 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 142,633 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Steel Dynamics worth $11,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $289,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,007 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $128,434,000 after buying an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 192.4% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,577,000 after buying an additional 164,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $16,495,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD stock traded down $9.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $117.85. The stock had a trading volume of 989,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,455,680. The firm has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $128.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.97. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase 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 1.70%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.