QRG Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,908 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $7,748,000 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.22.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $122.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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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