Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Nucor Corporation by 4.6%, acquiring 3,988 additional shares, bringing its total to 91,386 shares worth approximately $11 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly boosted their stakes in Nucor, with Voya Investment Management LLC increasing its position by 528.6%, now holding over 507,000 shares valued at about $59 million.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%, with a current payout ratio of 39.71%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,386 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $11,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 73.5% during the first 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 bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,177,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,382. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.77 and a 200-day moving average of $126.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.74. 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 earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Nucor's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.