Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Nucor stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 12,846 shares and bringing its total holding to 351,806 shares valued at about $57.4 million.
• Nucor’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $3.23 versus the $2.82 consensus and revenue of $9.50 billion, up 21.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with multiple firms raising ratings and price targets; the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $247.50.

National Pension Service lifted its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 351,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.15% of Nucor worth $57,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 281.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus upped their target price on Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bradley Ford sold 2,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total transaction of $519,971.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,649 shares in the company, valued at $10,132,242.37. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Randy J. Spicer sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $562,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,510 shares in the company, valued at $4,614,750. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,818 shares of company stock worth $16,234,593. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $250.06 on Friday. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $106.21 and a 52 week high of $251.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.87. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $204.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.02.

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

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Nucor

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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