MQS Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Nucor Corporation $NUE

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Nucor by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Nucor by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total transaction of $1,028,566.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randy J. Spicer sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $562,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,614,750. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 82,378 shares of company stock valued at $18,963,930. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $222.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $237.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.88. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $128.46 and a 52 week high of $270.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. Argus upped their price target on Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $265.00 to $290.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $227.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.92.

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.