Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management cut its Nucor stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 154,158 shares and leaving it with 1.53 million shares worth about $249.7 million.
• Nucor beat first-quarter expectations, reporting $3.23 EPS versus the $2.82 estimate on revenue of $9.50 billion, up 21.3% year over year.
• The company also has an active $4 billion share buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $247.50.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,531,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 154,158 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Nucor worth $249,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 15,814.3% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,879,000 after acquiring an additional 146,758 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $342,642,000 after acquiring an additional 210,577 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NUE opened at $226.46 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $194.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $51.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $106.21 and a 12 month high of $235.45.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total value of $2,282,503.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,213,875.68. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total transaction of $2,912,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 89,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,277,624. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,818 shares of company stock valued at $16,234,593. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.50.

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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