Farmers Trust Co. Acquires 19,381 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 579.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,726 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,381 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $162,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Nucor by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.30. The company had a trading volume of 3,371,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $114.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.76. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.89.

About Nucor

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.