Swedbank AB Purchases 15,313 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Nucor Corporation by 6.4%, owning 255,621 shares valued at $33.1 million after purchasing an additional 15,313 shares in the second quarter.
• Equities analysts have issued mixed ratings on Nucor, with a recent price target boost from Bank of America to $165, while Wells Fargo decreased theirs to $140, indicating a somewhat polarized outlook on the stock.
• Nucor declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.7%, set to be paid on November 10 to shareholders on record by September 30.

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 15,313 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.11% of Nucor worth $33,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,962 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,183,192. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,309 shares of company stock valued at $5,857,471 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.36. The stock had a trading volume of 346,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,251. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. 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 cap of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $142.81 and its 200-day moving average is $128.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is 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.