Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 14,122 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 496,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,122 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.22% of Nucor worth $67,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $1,528,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $236,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 15,814.3% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $1,085,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its position in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,879,000 after purchasing an additional 146,758 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.6%

NUE opened at $176.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $175.86 and its 200-day moving average is $156.62. 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 data on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

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.