Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,476,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $168,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STLD. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 287.5% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 76,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,776,000 after purchasing an additional 57,079 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 38,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $342,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $124.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.50 and a 200-day moving average of $127.93. 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 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

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.