First Business Financial Services Inc. Takes $2.02 Million Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• First Business Financial Services Inc. has acquired a new stake in Nucor Corporation, purchasing 15,581 shares valued at approximately $2.02 million during the second quarter.
• Recent insider trading activity includes executives selling over 31,000 shares of Nucor stock, totaling approximately $4.55 million in transactions.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 30th, reflecting a 1.6% yield based on its annualized dividend.

First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,581 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,539 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,451,000 after acquiring an additional 7,507 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 16,673 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 98,921 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,904,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $138.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 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 capitalization of $31.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.75. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $140.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.48.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.60.

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.

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