Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 19,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,628,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $642,033,000 after buying an additional 451,630 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,592,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $409,816,000 after buying an additional 815,629 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,179,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $362,636,000 after buying an additional 393,516 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 433.1% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,816,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $227,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,775,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $202,507,000 after acquiring an additional 259,361 shares in the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on STLD. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Steel Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.70.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In related news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total value of $1,013,773.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 125,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,950,647.94. The trade was a 5.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Graham sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $1,520,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,456,371.98. The trade was a 15.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,749 shares of company stock valued at $2,702,468 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $127.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.77 and its 200-day moving average is $128.24. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.17 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The basic materials company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.04). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 6.07%. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

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.