Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,259 Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $642,033,000 after buying an additional 451,630 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,688,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $419,697,000 after acquiring an additional 30,350 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $409,816,000 after acquiring an additional 815,629 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,179,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $362,636,000 after purchasing an additional 393,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,426,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $134.94 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $123.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.42%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on STLD. KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas raised Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price target on shares of Steel Dynamics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.