Xponance Inc. Buys 15,914 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 78.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,184 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 15,914 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. UBS Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ STLD traded up $1.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,435,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,514. The company's fifty day moving average is $128.29 and its 200-day moving average is $128.31. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

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.