Oakworth Capital Inc. Makes New Investment in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 23.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 21,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 36.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,970,000 after purchasing an additional 15,865 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 64,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STLD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.29.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.6 %

STLD opened at $138.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 1.42. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $151.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.05.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.02). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 29.49% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 12.61%.

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.