Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,769 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $9,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 165.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,014,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $212,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,751 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 789,836 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,686,000 after acquiring an additional 405,836 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $38,644,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 997,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,139,000 after purchasing an additional 224,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 832.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 213,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,942,000 after purchasing an additional 191,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company's stock.

Steel Dynamics Trading Up 3.6 %

STLD traded up $4.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,220,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,973. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.55 and a 52 week high of $151.34. The stock has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.93.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 27.62%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.01 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Steel Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on STLD. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.17.

Steel Dynamics Company 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.