AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,235 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.06% of Nucor worth $17,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Nucor by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 10,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.22.

Nucor Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NUE stock traded up $2.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,061,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,487. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. Nucor's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.