Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Makes New Investment in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc. has invested approximately $219,000 in Nucor Corporation by acquiring 1,817 shares, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Nucor recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, representing a 1.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 39.71%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Nucor, with one Strong Buy, seven Buy ratings, but also a recent downgrade from a Hold to a Sell rating by Wall Street Zen, affecting overall investor sentiment.

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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 that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded up $2.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.52. The stock had a trading volume of 939,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,422,390. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $139.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.65. The stock has a market cap of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.74.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

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.