Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $65,000 Stock Holdings in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Steel Dynamics by 532.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $61,000. 82.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’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 owns 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Steel Dynamics Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of STLD opened at $133.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.35. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.60 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.17.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.22.

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.