Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STLD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.22.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $135.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.48.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.