Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new position in Nucor, buying 3.73 million shares valued at about $609 million, or roughly 1.63% of the company.
• Nucor has seen generally positive analyst attention, with several firms raising ratings or price targets; the stock’s consensus target is $247.50 and its overall rating is Moderate Buy.
• The steel producer reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also authorizing a $4 billion share repurchase program that could cover up to 9.7% of outstanding shares.

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,733,688 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $609,002,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.63% of Nucor at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth $25,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 281.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Nucor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.50.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $250.06 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $204.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $106.21 and a 52-week high of $251.39.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $1,465,908.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,410,390.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total value of $1,028,566.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,834 shares in the company, valued at $3,802,127.24. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,818 shares of company stock worth $16,234,593 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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