Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Position Raised by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 62.1%, holding 10,622 shares worth approximately $1.29 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Nucor reported quarterly earnings of $2.60 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $8.46 billion, which reflected a 4.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, translating to an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for June 30th.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 62.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,622 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,068 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $139.11. 1,066,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,522,974. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $170.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.98 and a 200 day moving average of $126.13. The stock has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,109 shares of company stock valued at $3,360,094. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.