State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 8.3%, owning 49,498 shares valued at approximately $6.19 million after selling 4,477 shares in the first quarter.
• Steel Dynamics reported a quarterly EPS of $2.01, missing analysts' expectations of $2.05, with total revenues of $4.57 billion, which was below the forecasted $4.82 billion.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Steel Dynamics, including Victory Capital Management, which raised its position by 433.1%, and GAMMA Investing LLC, which boosted its holdings by an astounding 18,398.4%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,498 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,477 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $6,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STLD. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 24.4% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 6,604 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,495,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of STLD stock traded up $6.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $132.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,463,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,332. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $129.14 and its 200 day moving average is $128.16. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released 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). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%.The business had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. Steel Dynamics's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other 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 value of $1,520,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. This trade represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of Steel Dynamics 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 owned 81,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Steel Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics 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.