AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Lowers Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs cut its Nucor stake by 77.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 41,151 shares and leaving it with 11,712 shares worth about $1.91 million.
• Nucor reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.23 versus $2.82 expected and revenue of $9.50 billion, while revenue rose 21.3% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $4 billion share repurchase plan and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, or $2.24 annually, for a 1.0% yield.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs decreased its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 77.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 41,151 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs' holdings in Nucor were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 53,056 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,213 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 3,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its position in Nucor by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 4,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 12,862 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $229.77 on Wednesday. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $106.21 and a 12 month high of $235.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $187.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.22. 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 firm has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.87.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total transaction of $2,282,503.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,213,875.68. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley Ford sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total value of $519,971.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,132,242.37. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,318 shares of company stock worth $15,672,093. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NUE. KeyCorp started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.80.

Nucor Company 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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