Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,215 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Steel Dynamics worth $19,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 85.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,295,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,007 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 6.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,546,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,933,000 after buying an additional 96,122 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $158,487,000 after acquiring an additional 253,802 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 116.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,018,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,434,000 after acquiring an additional 548,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 448,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,603,000 after acquiring an additional 80,262 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $133.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.60 and a 52 week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.78%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.22.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other 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 value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.