Vestcor Inc Sells 4,051 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation by 48.1%, selling 4,051 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 4,370 shares valued at $526,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Canal Capital Management and Highline Wealth Partners, have recently increased their holdings in Nucor, indicating continued interest from the investment community.
• Nucor's stock saw a 1.1% decline to $137.10, despite reporting earnings per share of $2.60 for the last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations.

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 48.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,051 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Nucor were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.13.

Nucor Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $1.57 on Monday, reaching $137.10. 1,190,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,879,863. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $130.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.76. The company has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock valued at $3,360,094 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.