Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 5,546 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors reduced its Nucor stake by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,546 shares and leaving it with 27,672 shares worth about $4.56 million.
• Nucor reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.23 beating estimates and revenue of $9.50 billion, up 21.3% year over year.
• The company is returning cash to shareholders through a $0.56 quarterly dividend and a newly authorized $4 billion share buyback program, while analysts largely remain positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,672 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,546 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 580.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,699,000 after purchasing an additional 557,819 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Nucor by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $412,081,000 after buying an additional 509,019 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $127,216,000 after buying an additional 489,950 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 494.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 434,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,873,000 after buying an additional 361,417 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 146.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $74,339,000 after buying an additional 326,572 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $227.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $184.10 and its 200 day moving average is $171.28. Nucor Corporation has a one year low of $106.21 and a one year high of $235.44.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The business had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st 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, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total transaction of $2,282,503.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,213,875.68. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $1,465,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,377 shares in the company, valued at $11,410,390.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 76,770 shares of company stock worth $17,132,834 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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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