United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,168,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $250.84 on Friday. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $131.32 and a 52-week high of $280.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $246.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.97. The firm has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.89.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. The trade was a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,528 shares of company stock valued at $4,793,035. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Nucor from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.38.

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.