Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 1,989 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management has increased its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. by 4% in the second quarter, now holding $6.65 million worth of shares.
• Several institutional investors made significant moves, including Sunbelt Securities, which doubled its stake by 100% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Steel Dynamics, with Wells Fargo increasing it from $143 to $150, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $6,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Steel Dynamics by 493.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Steel Dynamics by 194.7% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.40.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD stock traded down $2.46 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.61. 665,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,582,763. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a one year low of $103.17 and a one year high of $155.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.39. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of Steel Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.