Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 326,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,750,000. Steel Dynamics makes up approximately 1.0% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,745,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $401,574,000 after buying an additional 12,208 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,612,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,105,000 after purchasing an additional 19,833 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 6.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,024,978 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,118,000 after purchasing an additional 122,507 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 165.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,014,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $212,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,008,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,787,000 after purchasing an additional 11,026 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $4.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,220,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,849. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.26. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.55 and a 12-month high of $151.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.47.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 27.62% and a net margin of 12.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.17.

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.