Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stock Position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 25.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,599 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 73.5% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.75.

Nucor Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $140.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.52. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 51,326 shares of company stock worth $6,325,108. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Company 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.