DRW Securities LLC Purchases 34,228 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC significantly increased its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 1,733.1% in the first quarter, now holding 36,203 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Brokerages have shown positive sentiment towards Steel Dynamics, with Wells Fargo upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" and analysts raising the price target to an average of $148.70.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating a payout ratio of 29.15% and an annual yield of 1.5% for shareholders of record by September 30.

DRW Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 1,733.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,228 shares during the quarter. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $2,795,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 79,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,112,000 after purchasing an additional 15,284 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 308,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,156,000 after purchasing an additional 86,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 0.7%

STLD stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $130.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 538,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,920. The company has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $129.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 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 analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steel Dynamics news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total transaction of $168,173.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,971,807.32. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,520,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Steel Dynamics

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.