Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 2.0%, selling 3,941 shares, and now owns approximately 190,615 shares, valued at $22.9 million.
• Nucor reported $2.60 EPS in its latest earnings, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.54, with revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 39.71%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,941 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Nucor worth $22,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 17.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,853,000 after buying an additional 4,763 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 21.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 101,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,210,000 after acquiring an additional 17,861 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Nucor by 20.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 305,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,704,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 48.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $147.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,374,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,179,461. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.12.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,464 shares in the company, valued at $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,183,192. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

About Nucor

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.