Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Holdings Cut by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 97.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,305 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 141,864 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $127.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.17 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 26.42%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.44.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.