Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 91,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $11,412,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Steel Dynamics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 493.9% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ STLD traded up $2.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.72. 865,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,168,376. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $129.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%.The company had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

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.