Advisory Alpha LLC Takes Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 23,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.88.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, VP Chad Bickford sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.86, for a total transaction of $269,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,106. This represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares in the company, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,650 shares of company stock worth $1,498,170. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $122.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.38. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its 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 19.82% and a net margin of 9.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 18.78%.

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.