Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has significantly reduced its holdings in Nucor Corporation by 69.8%, selling 20,176 shares and now owning only 8,710 shares valued at $1.12 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Nucor, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now holding 109,991 shares worth $15.16 million after a substantial buy.
• Nucor recently reported $2.60 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share with a 1.6% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 69.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,710 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 20,176 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter worth $256,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Nucor by 33.3% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its position in Nucor by 8.4% in the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 8,386 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Nucor by 8.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 109,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $15,164,000 after buying an additional 8,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Nucor by 6.4% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 255,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,113,000 after buying an additional 15,313 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $138.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.54 and a 200-day moving average of $128.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of Nucor 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 sale, the insider directly owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.20.

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.

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