Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stock holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, selling 2,539 shares and owning 9,765 shares valued at approximately $1.22 million.
• Various institutional investors increased their stakes in Steel Dynamics, with notable increases including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC by 31.6% and Golden State Wealth Management LLC by 124.1%.
• Steel Dynamics reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $2.01, falling short of expectations and noted a 1.5% revenue decline compared to the prior year.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,539 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 103.6% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 5,842 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded up $1.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $130.86. The stock had a trading volume of 947,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,746. The firm's fifty day moving average is $129.41 and its 200 day moving average is $128.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.13. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.17 and a 52 week high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.04). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total value of $168,173.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.