Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Bridgewater Advisors initiated a position in Nucor during the second quarter, purchasing 4,831 shares valued at approximately $1.23 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 76.48% of Nucor.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with 12 analysts rating Nucor a Buy and four assigning a Hold rating. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $273.31.
• Nucor exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.84 in EPS and $10.40 billion in revenue, with revenue up 23% year over year. Shares opened at $268.11, while company insiders have sold about $5.36 million worth of stock over the past 90 days.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $609,002,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 580.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,699,000 after purchasing an additional 557,819 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,780,423 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $290,405,000 after purchasing an additional 383,952 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Nucor by 494.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 434,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,873,000 after buying an additional 361,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,135,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nucor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. CICC Research started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, May 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners boosted their price objective on Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Randy J. Spicer sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $562,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,614,750. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,028 shares of company stock worth $5,355,535. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $268.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $247.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.89. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $131.32 and a 52 week high of $280.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The business had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation NYSE: NUE is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor's operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.

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