Korea Investment CORP Grows Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 8.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $14.24 million worth of the company's stock.
• Multiple hedge funds also boosted their positions in Steel Dynamics, with Brooklyn Investment Group raising theirs by 48.6% in the same period.
• Steel Dynamics recently reported a quarterly net margin of 6.07% and declared a $0.50 dividend to be paid on October 10th, illustrating its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,840 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,331 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Steel Dynamics worth $14,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 6,604 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Steel Dynamics news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total transaction of $168,173.94. Following the sale, the director owned 81,812 shares in the company, valued at $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $1,520,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This trade represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on STLD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.70.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ STLD traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $132.70. 567,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,988. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.30. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.17 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The firm has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. Steel Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 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.