Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Purchases 11,308 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. raised its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,308 shares during the period. Steel Dynamics comprises approximately 1.4% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $7,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $126.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on STLD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.22.

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.