AQR Capital Management LLC Has $9.94 Million Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,098 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 47,871 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Steel Dynamics worth $9,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.44.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded up $6.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $136.64. 300,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,498,516. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $123.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.11. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.17 and a 1-year high of $155.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.42%.

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

Steel Dynamics 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.