Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 73.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 175,194 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $7,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 3.2 %

STLD stock opened at $127.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted 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 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.