Vest Financial LLC Buys 49,612 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 37.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,612 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Steel Dynamics worth $23,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Security National Bank bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Steel Dynamics from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Steel Dynamics in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.43.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STLD opened at $108.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 1.32. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.53 and a fifty-two week high of $151.34.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.81 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.64%.

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.