Amundi Increases Stake in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Amundi Corporation increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 2.2%, owning approximately 354,411 shares valued at $38.91 million as of the latest filing.
• Nucor reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the last quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 4.21% and quarterly revenue up 4.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 30, representing an annual yield of 1.5%.

Amundi lifted its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 354,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,678 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.15% of Nucor worth $38,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,962 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Nucor Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE NUE traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.20. The company had a trading volume of 267,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,351,907. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $170.52. The company has a market cap of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $143.05 and its 200-day moving average is $128.42.

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. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

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.