Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 2,892 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 43.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,892 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STLD. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Steel Dynamics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:STLD opened at $133.48 on Friday. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $155.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $127.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.68.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. Steel Dynamics had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 17.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steel Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Steel Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 26.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Miguel Alvarez sold 7,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.26, for a total transaction of $1,013,773.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 125,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,950,647.94. This trade represents a 5.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gabriel Shaheen sold 1,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.11, for a total transaction of $168,173.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,971,807.32. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently 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. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 target price on Steel Dynamics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Steel Dynamics from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised Steel Dynamics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Steel Dynamics from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.44.

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.