Nuveen LLC Invests $141.22 Million in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,173,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,484,965,000 after acquiring an additional 745,671 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $213,342,000 after acquiring an additional 92,363 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at $194,804,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,384,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,595,000 after acquiring an additional 96,375 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $137.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.92 and a 200-day moving average of $126.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.