United Services Automobile Association Purchases New Stake in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired a new stake in Nucor Corporation, purchasing 5,663 shares valued at approximately $691,000 during the first quarter.
• Nucor recently reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, resulting in an annual yield of 1.6%.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Nucor shares, with Jefferies Financial Group increasing it from $135 to $170, reflecting a strong consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,663 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $691,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,484,965,000 after purchasing an additional 745,671 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Nucor by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $277,920,000 after buying an additional 355,364 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 5.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $213,342,000 after purchasing an additional 92,363 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $194,804,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 16.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,610,933 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $193,863,000 after purchasing an additional 226,343 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

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

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.47. 929,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,279,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $143.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.45. Nucor Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company 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 increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Nucor Company 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.