AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 137.4%, owning 96,026 shares valued at approximately $11.56 million.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Daniel R. Needham selling 7,200 shares and Michael D. Keller selling 6,088 shares, both resulting in significant decreases in their ownership.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, with a yield of 1.5%, set to be paid on November 10th.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 137.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 55,585 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $11,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.6% during the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.1% during the first quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,962 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $141.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.36.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.

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.

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