Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Holdings Increased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 1,414.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,697 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $10,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $5,180,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 127,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,558,000 after buying an additional 8,553 shares in the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 350,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,924,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 90.3% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 406,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,352,000 after purchasing an additional 192,767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on STLD shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $110.23 on Wednesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.17 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.81.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly 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 last year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.81%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.