KBC Group NV Cuts Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

KBC Group NV lessened its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 662,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 40,531 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $75,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STLD. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 59.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,377,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 93,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,142,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 24.3% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total transaction of $277,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total value of $950,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.38.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $122.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.38. The firm has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.39. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56.

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 17.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.78%.

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.