Optas LLC Invests $204,000 in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Optas LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.13.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of STLD stock opened at $126.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.04 and a 200-day moving average of $126.24. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $104.60 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted 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 business earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 18.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.75, for a total value of $277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at $2,927,763.75. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.00, for a total transaction of $950,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 116,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,723,707. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% 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.