South Dakota Investment Council Sells 12,147 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,147 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 281.7% in the third quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total transaction of $330,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,967,106.56. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $690,818.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,298 shares in the company, valued at $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NUE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Friday, January 9th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.27.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $177.54 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.28. The firm has a market cap of $40.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $196.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.71%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.