Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $32.16 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Nucor Corporation by 16.6%, owning 267,269 shares valued at approximately $32.2 million.
• Nucor recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.60 for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, along with a 4.7% revenue increase compared to the prior year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.20 and a yield of 1.6%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,956 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Nucor worth $32,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 62.1% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 10,622 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Nucor by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 20,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 3,536 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Nucor by 30.5% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 89,418 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,761,000 after purchasing an additional 20,897 shares during the period. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $542,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $137.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,225,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,724. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.13. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52. The company has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, 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.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 price target of $157.13.

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.