Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,438 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.18% of Steel Dynamics worth $30,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $128.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 20.41%.

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.