Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 92,363 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 5.5%, acquiring an additional 92,363 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.77 million shares valued at $213.3 million.
• Nucor's stock has garnered mixed ratings from analysts, with one report downgrading it to "sell" while others raised their price targets significantly, indicating a general consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $157.13.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, reflecting an annualized payout of $2.20 per share and a dividend yield of 1.6%, with approximately 76.48% of the stock owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 92,363 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.77% of Nucor worth $213,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $38,714,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 21,279 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Nucor by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 138,979 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,220,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE NUE traded up $3.70 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.42. 1,011,273 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,505,721. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $134.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.50.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.13.

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.