Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Reduces Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 79,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $10,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in Nucor by 53.8% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 2.6% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.6% in the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.5% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $133.03 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.95 and a 200 day moving average of $128.58. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.20.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814. 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.