Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 7,939 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

Machina Capital S.A.S. reduced its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 89.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,939 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. increased 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 period. NBH Bank purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. City State Bank acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Steel Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Steel Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Steel Dynamics from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Steel Dynamics from $272.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Steel Dynamics from $257.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Steel Dynamics

In other news, EVP Barry Schneider sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.91, for a total value of $12,445,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 196,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,885,675.09. The trade was a 20.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of STLD stock traded down $7.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.43. 699,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,060,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 3.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.29. The company has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.45. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.74.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The basic materials company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.48 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.43 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 18.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.65%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Company Profile

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.