Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 25%, now holding 16,973 shares worth approximately $2 million after selling 5,652 shares in the first quarter.
• Nucor recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.60, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.54, while revenue was slightly below estimates at $8.46 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for June 30th, translating to an annualized yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 39.71%.

Virtu Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,973 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,652 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 73.5% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the business'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 value of $906,342.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 worth $3,360,094 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Nucor Trading Up 0.7%

NUE traded up $1.01 on Friday, hitting $145.36. The company had a trading volume of 988,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,479,851. The company has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.74. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $135.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.78.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.71%.

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.