WINTON GROUP Ltd Invests $495,000 in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $123.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.46 and a 200 day moving average of $128.80. The company has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on STLD shares. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

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.