Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Reduces Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,661 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after buying an additional 1,060,007 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $128,434,000 after acquiring an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,384,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $158,487,000 after purchasing an additional 253,802 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 192.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 250,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,577,000 after purchasing an additional 164,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $124.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.60 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $127.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.93.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.41%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics 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.