MQS Management LLC Makes New $347,000 Investment in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,771 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 194.7% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total transaction of $1,013,773.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 125,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,950,647.94. The trade was a 5.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 81,812 shares in the company, valued at $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of STLD stock traded up $3.68 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $131.15. 1,514,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,453. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.74. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $131.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.19. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.33.

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.