Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 4,195 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,195 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 481.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 328,795 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,461,000 after acquiring an additional 272,226 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 571,787 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $74,064,000 after buying an additional 225,832 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,670,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 148.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 253,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,871,000 after buying an additional 151,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,138,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $276,891,000 after acquiring an additional 140,042 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.3 %

Steel Dynamics stock traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $136.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,273,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,742. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.31.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 9.80% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 17,941 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,387,767.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 146,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,523,371.37. This trade represents a 10.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,591 shares of company stock valued at $3,885,938. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.63.

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.