Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 18.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,494 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $3,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 493.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics by 306.2% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Steel Dynamics stock opened at $165.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.76. The company has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.47. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.17 and a fifty-two week high of $172.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.11.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.11. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 6.39%.The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 26.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $155.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $145.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 8,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $1,343,180.29. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 117,068 shares in the company, valued at $19,057,499.72. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Steel Dynamics 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.