Empirical Finance LLC Sells 4,323 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 64.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,323 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third 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 boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 6.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 22.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after purchasing an additional 548,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 21.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 448,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,603,000 after purchasing an additional 80,262 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 21,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,927,763.75. This trade represents a 8.66 % 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. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ STLD opened at $134.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $20.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.36.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STLD shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.22.

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.