OLD Republic International Corp Has $54.34 Million Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

OLD Republic International Corp trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 312,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Nucor comprises approximately 2.0% of OLD Republic International Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. OLD Republic International Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $54,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Nucor by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,385,000 after acquiring an additional 7,823 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 17.4% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 32,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,069,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 49,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,814,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 14.0% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 11,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $174.10. 354,274 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,504. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $187.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.65.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 12.71%.

About Nucor

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.