Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 64%, holding 31,296 shares valued at approximately $4 million after selling 55,695 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts have shown optimism for Steel Dynamics, with several firms including Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo raising their price targets, establishing a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.78.
• Steel Dynamics' recent earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $2.01, falling short of the expected $2.05, with quarterly revenue at $4.57 billion versus a forecast of $4.82 billion.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 55,695 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 40.6% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,675,973 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,541,000 after purchasing an additional 484,304 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 89,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,490,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 9.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Steel Dynamics from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.78.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock opened at $141.63 on Tuesday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.4%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

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.

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