Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Cuts Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 41.5%, now holding 28,615 shares valued at approximately $3.58 million.
• Steel Dynamics reported $4.57 billion in revenue for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations and showing a 1.5% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Research analysts have positive outlooks on Steel Dynamics, with several firms raising their price targets and a majority assigning a Moderate Buy rating to the stock.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 41.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 20,275 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $3,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 493.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock traded up $3.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.63. 1,290,075 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,185,281. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.17 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.