Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Sold by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management trimmed its Nucor stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,990 shares and leaving it with 354,693 shares valued at about $57.9 million.
• Nucor’s latest earnings topped expectations, with Q1 EPS of $3.23 versus $2.82 expected and revenue of $9.50 billion, up 21.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: several firms raised targets or started coverage, and the stock now has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $247.50, while shares recently traded around $250.06.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,990 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Nucor worth $57,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 281.7% in the third quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NUE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.50.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $250.06 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $106.21 and a 12 month high of $251.39. The company has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.88.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total value of $2,282,503.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,213,875.68. This trade represents a 13.84% 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, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total transaction of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,834 shares in the company, valued at $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,818 shares of company stock valued at $16,234,593. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Profile

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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