Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 262,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,715 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $29,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $123.97 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $104.60 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.52. The firm 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 (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

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