77,600 Shares in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 77,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,882,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

STLD stock opened at $126.66 on Tuesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.31. The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.58%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.