UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Boosts Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,434,000 after buying an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 253,802 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 192.4% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,577,000 after acquiring an additional 164,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,495,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $123.97 on Monday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.60 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.80.

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 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 20.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STLD shares. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics 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.