Vident Advisory LLC Buys 10,953 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nucor Corporation by 136.3%, owning 18,991 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million after purchasing an additional 10,953 shares.
• Several analysts have provided mixed ratings for Nucor, with a consensus price target of $155.78 and seven analysts giving a "Buy" rating.
• Nucor recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.5% for shareholders.

Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 136.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,953 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $2,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 73.5% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, 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 value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NUE traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $147.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,374,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,054. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.45 and a 200-day moving average of $128.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.76.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

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.