AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 2,169 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 2,213.3%, owning 2,267 shares worth approximately $273,000 following an acquisition of 2,169 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, which represents an annualized dividend of $2.20 and a yield of 1.5%; this reflects a dividend payout ratio of 39.71%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Nucor, with range estimates between $145.00 to $162.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $155.78.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2,213.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 7.0% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 25.4% during the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 8,999 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 198,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,907,000 after buying an additional 4,316 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 18.4% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $480,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.82. 911,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,821. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The company has a market capitalization of $34.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814 in the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor 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.