Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Stake Lessened by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,282,121 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 446,024 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.01% of Steel Dynamics worth $2,085,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STLD. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,486 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,039,000 after acquiring an additional 28,131 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 1.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,073 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,926,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9.3% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,619 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.67.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $125.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,771,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,635. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $128.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.90.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.