Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 2,259 Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total transaction of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price target on shares of Steel Dynamics and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Steel Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.44.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 1.5 %

STLD stock traded down $1.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.17. 905,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,499,401. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $123.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.04. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics's payout ratio is 26.42%.

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.