Stephens Inc. AR Has $1.33 Million Position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,255,000 after acquiring an additional 105,309 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 18.7% in the 4th 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. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 24.6% in the 4th 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. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Nucor by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,384,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $161,595,000 after buying an additional 96,375 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE traded up $3.13 on Thursday, reaching $140.92. 1,109,641 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,241,323. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.73.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 39.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $152.75.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This represents a 6.66% 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 valued at $6,325,108 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.