Cresset Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor Corporation by 18.6%, acquiring an additional 17,514 shares, bringing its total holdings to 111,561 shares valued at $13.5 million.
• A number of research analysts have recently updated their ratings on Nucor, with Jefferies Financial Group upgrading it from "hold" to "buy" and raising the price target from $135 to $170.
• Nucor reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, equating to an annual yield of 1.5%.

Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,514 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $13,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Capital Management of KS Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,691,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 14.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 349,821 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,098,000 after acquiring an additional 45,147 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 36.0% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,929 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,687 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 69.5% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 126,801 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,027,000 after acquiring an additional 51,984 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 3.3% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094 in the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,382,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,732,602. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.64 and a 200-day moving average of $127.15. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $155.78.

Nucor Company 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.