PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Takes $39.73 Million Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake of 232,286 shares in Steel Dynamics valued at about $39.73 million, representing roughly 0.16% ownership.
• The analyst picture is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus of Hold and an average price target of $214.30, even as several firms raised targets (BMO to $240, KeyCorp to $241) while Morgan Stanley remains an underperform.
• Steel Dynamics reported Q1 EPS of $2.78 (missing estimates by $0.01) and revenue below expectations, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield ~0.9%).

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 232,286 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $39,728,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.16% of Steel Dynamics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 5,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $190.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 4,825 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.58, for a total value of $1,088,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 122,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,578,734.06. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth W. Cornew sold 5,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.87, for a total value of $1,124,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,038,206.13. The trade was a 13.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $229.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.48. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.89 and a 12-month high of $230.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.39 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 14.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.67%.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a U.S.-based, diversified steel producer and metals recycler that operates an integrated network of mini-mills, finishing lines and fabrication facilities. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company manufactures a broad range of steel products and provides downstream processing, coating and fabrication services to industrial customers. Its operations combine steelmaking using electric-arc furnaces with extensive metals recycling capabilities, allowing Steel Dynamics to convert scrap ferrous and nonferrous materials into finished steel products.

The company's product portfolio includes flat-rolled steel (coiled and sheet products), structural steel and fabricated components, along with coated and painted steel used in consumer, industrial and construction applications.

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