Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Purchases Shares of 5,540 Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Sumitomo Life Insurance purchased 5,540 Nucor shares valued at approximately $1.23 million, while institutional investors collectively own 76.48% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $273.31.
• Nucor exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.84 in earnings per share versus the $4.46 consensus and $10.40 billion in revenue, up 23% year over year; it also maintains a $0.56 quarterly dividend.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,452,563,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $609,002,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $330,902,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $220,176,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,848,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. KeyCorp raised Nucor from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.31.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $243.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.89. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $131.32 and a 52 week high of $280.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at $25,294,187.90. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,528 shares of company stock worth $4,793,035. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation NYSE: NUE is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor's operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.

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