Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 18.2%, now holding approximately 2.3 million shares worth $277.92 million.
• In the first quarter, 76.48% of Nucor's stock was owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting strong interest in the company.
• Nucor reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the last quarter, beating analyst expectations by $0.06, and plans to post a projected 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 355,364 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.00% of Nucor worth $277,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $0.49 on Friday, reaching $149.31. The company had a trading volume of 220,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,402,840. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $140.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate 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.