Covea Finance purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,836,000.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 46.0% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,550 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,651,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Nucor by 5.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 108,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,129,000 after buying an additional 5,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.
Nucor Stock Performance
NYSE:NUE traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,053,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,419,382. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $135.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.10. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00.
Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Nucor Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.63.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Nucor
Nucor Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Nucor, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Nucor wasn't on the list.
While Nucor currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Click the link below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
