Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,989 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Steel Dynamics worth $26,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 6.6% in 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 worth $194,933,000 after acquiring an additional 96,122 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 worth $158,487,000 after acquiring an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,374,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $156,836,000 after purchasing 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% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,027,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $117,189,000 after purchasing an additional 114,485 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $123.97 on Monday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results 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 company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.