NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $495,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $593,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $123.97 on Monday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.80. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 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 company earned $2.61 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

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.