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

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Nucor by 2.6% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 2.2% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 4.6% during the first quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 2.5% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 6.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.20.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.03. 4,862,886 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,419,934. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.76. 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.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. 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.