Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $2.16 Million Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STLD. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Steel Dynamics by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $360,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 13,536 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the period. 82.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on STLD. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Steel Dynamics from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Steel Dynamics from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.17.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 0.1 %

STLD stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $132.71. 1,054,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,202,411. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.25 and its 200-day moving average is $123.64. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $151.34. The company has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.13. Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 27.62% and a net margin of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. Steel Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 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.