Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Nucor during the first quarter, buying 11,700 shares valued at about $1.98 million.
• Nucor reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.23 versus $2.82 expected and revenue of $9.50 billion, up 21.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $266.92.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,978,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE NUE opened at $222.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $128.46 and a 12 month high of $270.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $237.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.96.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company's revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 22.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total value of $2,729,337.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley Ford sold 2,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total value of $519,971.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,132,242.37. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 82,378 shares of company stock valued at $18,963,930 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nucor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nucor from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $274.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Nucor from $227.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $266.92.

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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