Nuveen Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,238,994 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 91,687 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.53% of Nucor worth $144,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Canal Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 2.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in Nucor by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.33.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE NUE traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $115.72. 1,630,650 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,110. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.40. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $173.00. The firm has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

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.