Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 32.3% in Q1, owning 8,392 shares valued at $1.01 million.
• Nucor's stock received multiple upgrades, with analysts raising their price targets, resulting in an average target price of $155.78 and a "Moderate Buy" rating from the majority.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.60 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenues slightly down from estimates but up 4.7% from the previous year.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 32.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 6.1% in the first quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,962 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total value of $1,449,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,183,192. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $143.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,506,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,311. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $142.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.12. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. The company has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

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.