Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,346 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,231 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,546,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $194,933,000 after buying an additional 96,122 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $158,487,000 after buying an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $156,836,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,027,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $117,189,000 after acquiring an additional 114,485 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:STLD traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $128.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,366,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,366,553. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56.

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

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.56.

About Steel Dynamics

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.