KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $8.88 Million Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 77,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,882,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.05% of Steel Dynamics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STLD. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $62,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 3.1% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,544,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 1.2% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on STLD. Morgan Stanley raised Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $126.66 on Tuesday. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $128.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

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.