South Dakota Investment Council Makes New $3.51 Million Investment in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 28,078 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,512,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD traded down $3.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $131.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,460,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,795. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $155.56. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $131.65 and its 200 day moving average is $127.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 6.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total transaction of $168,173.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $1,013,773.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 125,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,950,647.94. The trade was a 5.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.