Stevens Capital Management LP Invests $376,000 in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP acquired 3,121 shares of Nucor Corporation during Q1, valued at approximately $376,000.
• Nucor reported $0.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.92, with a revenue of $7.83 billion.
• Increased trading activity has been noted as several institutional investors, including Canal Capital Management and Highline Wealth Partners, have raised their positions in Nucor's stock.

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,121 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Nucor by 3.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 118,019 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 16.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,501,000 after buying an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $194,804,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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 lowered their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.75.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,326 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,108. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $1.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.57. 516,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,562,026. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $128.74 and its 200-day moving average is $125.35. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $170.52. The company has a market capitalization of $32.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.70.

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 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 6.66%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.54%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

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.