Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,030 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,321 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.07% of Steel Dynamics worth $11,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Steel Dynamics by 1,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 450 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of STLD stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.78. 1,095,514 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,504,842. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $124.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.23. 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 market cap of $20.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. 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 prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.44.

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.