Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 33.1% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 51,250 shares valued at approximately $6.41 million.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 12,000 shares by SVP Christopher A. Graham at an average price of $126.71, resulting in a 15.24% decrease in his position.
• Steel Dynamics reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' estimates, with revenue down 1.5% year-over-year.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,250 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,745 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $6,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,749 shares of company stock worth $2,702,468 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.1%

STLD stock traded down $1.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.23. 969,639 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,266,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $130.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.22. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.17 and a 52-week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on STLD. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.