Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 8,599 Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,888 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,599 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,404 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,861,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Nucor by 771.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,999 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 12,393 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 2.3%

Nucor stock opened at $140.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $124.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,326 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,108 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.75.

Nucor 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.

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