Credit Agricole S A Acquires 9,564 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 12.5%, acquiring an additional 9,564 shares, bringing its total holdings to 86,129 shares valued at approximately $10.37 million.
• Institutional investors together own 76.48% of Nucor, with various firms, such as Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors and Park Square Financial Group, recently making new investments or increasing their positions in the company.
• Nucor Corporation has received mixed analyst ratings, with one firm upgrading it to a "buy" and another lowering its price target; the current average target price is $155.78.

Credit Agricole S A raised its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,564 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Nucor were worth $10,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NUE. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 42,309 shares of company stock worth $5,860,294 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $143.4430 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $137.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.26. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The company has a market cap of $32.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.74.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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