2,404 Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 7.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $7,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. grew its stake in Steel Dynamics by 1,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. NBH Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. City State Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $237.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $238.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.03. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.21 and a 1-year high of $288.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.45.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The basic materials company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by ($0.22). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 18.12 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, November 9th that allows the company to buy back $3 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 15.65%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In related news, EVP Barry Schneider sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.91, for a total transaction of $12,445,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,885,675.09. This represents a 20.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STLD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Steel Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Steel Dynamics from $296.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $299.00 price objective (down from $301.00) on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.83.

About Steel Dynamics

Steel Dynamics, Inc. is a U.S.-based steel producer and metals recycler founded in 1993. The company operates electric-arc-furnace steel mills and produces flat-rolled, structural, engineered bar, merchant bar and rail products for customers across a range of industries. Its businesses also include metals recycling, steel fabrication and aluminum operations. Through these activities, Steel Dynamics collects and processes scrap metal, manufactures steel components and supplies products used in construction, automotive manufacturing, energy and other markets.