Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 264,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,004 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Steel Dynamics worth $33,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.4% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 77,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $248,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 95,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,897,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 108.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 4,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $347,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of STLD opened at $152.38 on Wednesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $164.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $144.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 6.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STLD. Citigroup increased their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.11.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 8,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $1,343,180.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 117,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,057,499.72. The trade was a 6.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% 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.