Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys New Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners initiated a Nucor position of 115,531 shares worth approximately $25.7 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 76.48% of the company.
• Nucor reported quarterly EPS of $4.84, exceeding the $4.46 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 23% year over year to $10.40 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $272.38.
• Nucor declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56, equivalent to a $2.24 annualized payout and a 0.9% yield; meanwhile, company insiders sold 18,528 shares worth approximately $4.8 million during the last quarter.

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 115,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $25,735,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned 0.05% of Nucor at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter worth $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter valued at $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 51.9% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 13,877 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Nucor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Argus upped their price target on Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.38.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,008,704.32. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,528 shares of company stock worth $4,793,035 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $252.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $131.32 and a 12-month high of $280.11. The business's 50 day moving average is $246.51 and its 200 day moving average is $218.75.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The business had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Nucor Company Profile

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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