Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Takes Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 10,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $339,769,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $101,254,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $48,746,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 134.9% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 493,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,779,000 after acquiring an additional 283,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 79.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 627,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,332,000 after acquiring an additional 277,166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on STLD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $194.00 to $192.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $210.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Steel Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.44.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Steel Dynamics stock opened at $166.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.89. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $208.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.43.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. Steel Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 24.97%.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc is a U.S.-based, diversified steel producer and metals recycler that operates an integrated network of mini-mills, finishing lines and fabrication facilities. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company manufactures a broad range of steel products and provides downstream processing, coating and fabrication services to industrial customers. Its operations combine steelmaking using electric-arc furnaces with extensive metals recycling capabilities, allowing Steel Dynamics to convert scrap ferrous and nonferrous materials into finished steel products.

The company’s product portfolio includes flat-rolled steel (coiled and sheet products), structural steel and fabricated components, along with coated and painted steel used in consumer, industrial and construction applications.