Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 35,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,778,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Nucor by 1.2% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 42,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,718,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 30.3% in the third quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC raised its position in Nucor by 38.3% during the third quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co lifted its stake in Nucor by 19.8% during the third quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.36.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,717,044. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,763,523.50. This trade represents a 10.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $183.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.63. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $196.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued 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 net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 29.71%.

Nucor Company Profile

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.