71 West Capital Partners Takes $803,000 Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• 71 West Capital Partners opened a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter, buying 4,925 shares worth about $803,000.
• Institutional interest in Nucor remains strong, with several funds adding or establishing positions and 76.48% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock: Nucor has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $261.54, while the company also beat earnings estimates and recently approved a $4 billion share buyback.

71 West Capital Partners purchased a new stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $803,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NUE. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 745.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 83,463 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 73,588 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Nucor by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $342,642,000 after purchasing an additional 210,577 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,989,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,329,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $244.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $261.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total transaction of $1,028,566.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,802,127.24. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at $25,294,187.90. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,378 shares of company stock worth $18,963,930. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $259.31 on Tuesday. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $120.40 and a twelve month high of $270.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $224.34 and its 200 day moving average is $189.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $59.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.88.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Nucor's quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 15.71 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation NYSE: NUE is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor's operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.

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