Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 23,940 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,940 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,255,000 after acquiring an additional 105,309 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Nucor by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $284,220,000 after buying an additional 384,205 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Nucor by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,680,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $196,127,000 after buying an additional 68,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of Nucor stock traded up $3.39 on Friday, reaching $121.84. 3,303,641 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,119. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $170.52. The company has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $115.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.15%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.22.

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.