Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 94.4%, selling over 64,000 shares, leaving it with 3,781 shares worth $455,000.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings, with Vanguard Group growing its position by 2.6% and Price T Rowe Associates boosting theirs by 18.2%.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share to be paid on November 10th, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Trexquant Investment LP cut its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 94.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,781 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 64,171 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Nucor were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,484,965,000 after buying an additional 745,671 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Nucor by 18.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $277,920,000 after purchasing an additional 355,364 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 5.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $213,342,000 after purchasing an additional 92,363 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $194,804,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,384,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,595,000 after purchasing an additional 96,375 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.78.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $143.96 on Tuesday. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.76.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total value of $1,449,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,183,192. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814 in the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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