National Pension Service Trims Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• The National Pension Service significantly reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 84.4% in the first quarter, owning 38,416 shares worth approximately $4.8 million after the sell-off.
• Steel Dynamics' latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.01, missing estimates and showing a 1.5% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts are divided on the stock, with ratings ranging from sell to strong buy, and a consensus price target of $148.70.

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 84.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 208,228 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $16,495,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Steel Dynamics by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 33,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,179,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $362,636,000 after buying an additional 393,516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD traded up $2.31 on Tuesday, reaching $128.22. 1,572,772 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,736. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $129.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.20.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total value of $168,173.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 81,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,971,807.32. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.70.

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.