Trexquant Investment LP Takes $1.40 Million Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,263 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,399,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.67.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Steel Dynamics stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $119.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 252,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,498,409. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $126.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.68. The company has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors 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.