Nomura Holdings Inc. Cuts Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 85.6%, now holding 19,363 shares valued at approximately $2.33 million.
• Despite Nomura's decrease, several other institutional investors have increased their positions in Nucor, with Vanguard Group Inc. owning over 28 million shares, valued at around $3.48 billion.
• Nucor's latest earnings showed an EPS of $2.60, exceeding estimates, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 39.71%.

Nomura Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 85.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 114,787 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 136.3% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 18,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,285,000 after buying an additional 10,953 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 119.1% during the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,984 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 4,883 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Nucor by 14.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 311,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,469,000 after buying an additional 39,896 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in Nucor by 16.7% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 21,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 1.6%

NUE traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $147.24. 1,374,654 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,054. Nucor Corporation has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $170.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.20. The company has a market cap of $33.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.76. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.78.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,183,192. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

About Nucor

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.