Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 67.4% in Q1, leaving the firm with 37,930 shares valued at approximately $4.56 million.
• Nucor's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.60, exceeding expectations, and the company's revenue rose by 4.7% year-over-year, totaling $8.46 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Nucor show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $157.13, highlighting various upgrades and downgrades from prominent financial institutions.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 67.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,930 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 78,494 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Nucor by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $284,220,000 after acquiring an additional 384,205 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Nucor by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter valued at $194,804,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Nucor by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,384,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,595,000 after acquiring an additional 96,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Nucor by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,902,000 after acquiring an additional 186,663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock valued at $3,360,094 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,066,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,747,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.22. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

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.