Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 32.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $12,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,077,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 17,785.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,867,000 after acquiring an additional 502,961 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,235,000 after acquiring an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $284,220,000 after acquiring an additional 384,205 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE traded down $0.35 on Friday, hitting $138.51. 1,029,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,238,877. The business's fifty day moving average is $120.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.46. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. The company's revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,326 shares of company stock worth $6,325,108 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.00.

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.