Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 78,209 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 476,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 78,209 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.32% of Steel Dynamics worth $59,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 493.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 194.7% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $1,520,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,456,371.98. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.70.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.9%

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $134.63 on Monday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $129.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.01. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.04). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

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.

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