Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 8.4% during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $15.16 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Nucor, with Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. growing its position by 17.8% and Assenagon Asset Management S.A. by 20.5% in the first quarter.
• Analysts generally hold a positive outlook on Nucor, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.20.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,991 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,532 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $15,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $194,804,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $141,216,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,484,965,000 after purchasing an additional 745,671 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Nucor by 17,785.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,867,000 after buying an additional 502,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 18.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $277,920,000 after purchasing an additional 355,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.20.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $134.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,213,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,386. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $142.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.58. 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 current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,183,192. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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.