National Pension Service Buys 17,419 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 608,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,419 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.25% of Nucor worth $105,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Nucor by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after acquiring an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,041,000 after acquiring an additional 36,304 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,094,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $190,376,000 after purchasing an additional 22,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE traded up $3.30 on Thursday, reaching $173.10. The company had a trading volume of 351,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,397. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.79. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Nucor Company 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.