Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 52.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,986 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Nucor were worth $12,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 2,410.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 8.9 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $174.64 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $129.79 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.18.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.83.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.