Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 5,231 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,231 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $4,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STLD opened at $127.14 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.60 and a 1 year high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its 200 day moving average is $127.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

Insider Transactions at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,448,593.80. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on STLD. StockNews.com upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.56.

About Steel Dynamics

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.