Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,573 shares and leaving it with 64,220 shares worth about $10.9 million.
• Several analysts recently turned more positive on STLD, with multiple price-target increases; the stock now has an average analyst rating of Hold and an average target price of $214.30.
• Steel Dynamics reported quarterly EPS of $2.78, slightly below estimates, while revenue rose 19.1% year over year to $5.20 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable July 10.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,573 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $10,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STLD. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 307.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 819 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 82.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at about $1,019,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at about $48,746,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 7.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 105,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,447,000 after purchasing an additional 7,712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $180.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $190.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.30.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $229.34 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.89 and a 52-week high of $243.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.95 and a 200-day moving average of $182.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.79 by ($0.01). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 7.22%.The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Steel Dynamics's revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 14.77 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 22.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 4,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.58, for a total value of $1,088,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 122,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,578,734.06. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard A. Poinsatte sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.11, for a total transaction of $538,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 28,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,699,759.98. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,125 shares of company stock worth $2,751,227. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a U.S.-based, diversified steel producer and metals recycler that operates an integrated network of mini-mills, finishing lines and fabrication facilities. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company manufactures a broad range of steel products and provides downstream processing, coating and fabrication services to industrial customers. Its operations combine steelmaking using electric-arc furnaces with extensive metals recycling capabilities, allowing Steel Dynamics to convert scrap ferrous and nonferrous materials into finished steel products.

The company's product portfolio includes flat-rolled steel (coiled and sheet products), structural steel and fabricated components, along with coated and painted steel used in consumer, industrial and construction applications.

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