Nucor Corporation $NUE Position Reduced by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in Nucor Corporation by 41.4% during the first quarter, now holding 87,175 shares valued at approximately $10.49 million.
• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Nucor by 2.6% in the same period, now owning nearly 29 million shares worth about $3.48 billion.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, yielding 1.5%, with an annualized dividend payout ratio of 39.71%.

Korea Investment CORP decreased its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 41.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 61,525 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Nucor were worth $10,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,484,965,000 after purchasing an additional 745,671 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $213,342,000 after buying an additional 92,363 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $194,804,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,384,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,595,000 after buying an additional 96,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,902,000 after buying an additional 186,663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $143.3240 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $137.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. The company has a market cap of $32.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.74.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. Nucor's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,309 shares of company stock valued at $5,860,294 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Nucor Company 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.

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