24,504 Shares in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) Purchased by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,795,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $642,033,000 after purchasing an additional 451,630 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,688,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $419,697,000 after buying an additional 30,350 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $409,816,000 after buying an additional 815,629 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,179,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $362,636,000 after acquiring an additional 393,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $336,426,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

NASDAQ:STLD traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.55. 1,303,520 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,500,728. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.44. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Steel Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.42%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research raised Steel Dynamics from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $149.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Steel Dynamics from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.