Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) will release earnings for the fourth quarter before the opening bell on Monday, Jan. 26.

Analysts expect the company to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.72 per share. That’s up from $1.36 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Steel Dynamics' quarterly revenue is $4.59 billion (it reported $3.87 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

With the recent buzz around Steel Dynamics, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. As of now, Steel Dynamics has an annual dividend yield of 1.11%. That’s a quarterly dividend amount of 50 cents per share ($2.00 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $536,430 or around 3,000 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $107,286 or around 600 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($2.00 in this case). So, $6,000 / $2.00 = 3,000 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $2.00 = 600 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: Divide the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price. If a $50 stock pays an annual dividend of $2, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50).

However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

STLD Price Action: Shares of Steel Dynamics fell by 0.6% to close at $178.81 on Thursday.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba, on Jan. 9, downgraded Steel Dynamics from Overweight to Equal-Weight and raised the price target from $173 to $194.

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