Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Acquired by Busey Bank

Key Points

• Busey Bank increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 40.1% during the second quarter, owning a total of 111,938 shares valued at approximately $14.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts have generally upgraded their target prices for Nucor, with Bank of America increasing it to $165 and Jefferies lifting it to $170, indicating a strong positive outlook.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 to be paid on November 10th, with a current yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 39.71%.

Busey Bank raised its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 40.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,938 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,044 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank's holdings in Nucor were worth $14,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NUE. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 63.0% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 29,881 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,871,000 after buying an additional 11,547 shares during the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.0% during the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 28,022 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Nucor by 6.4% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 5,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Nucor during the second quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Nucor by 33.3% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.20.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at $13,458,134. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. This trade represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE traded down $1.27 on Friday, hitting $133.03. 4,862,886 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,386. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. Nucor's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Nucor 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.