326,937 Shares in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 326,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,750,000. Steel Dynamics makes up 1.0% of Sapient Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Sapient Capital LLC owned about 0.20% of Steel Dynamics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on STLD shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.17.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD traded up $4.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $135.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $138.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.87. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $151.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 27.62%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 12.64%.

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.