M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Sells 1,435 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,435 shares during the quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $3,608,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $269,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 57,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $16,495,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $125.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.74. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on STLD. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.67.

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.