Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Sells 155,400 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 87.3% during the second quarter, selling 155,400 shares and retaining only 22,600 shares valued at approximately $2.93 million.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 76.48% of Nucor's stock, with notable increases in positions from firms like Matrix Trust Co and Geneos Wealth Management Inc. during the same quarter.
• Nucor's recent quarterly earnings report highlighted an EPS of $2.60, beating estimates, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, equating to an annual yield of 1.6%.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. lessened its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 87.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 155,400 shares during the period. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Matrix Trust Co raised its position in Nucor by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 81.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 209.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 418 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 442 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.60.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $140.89 and a 200-day moving average of $130.21.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,183,192. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,309 shares of company stock valued at $4,553,771 in the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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