Nucor Corporation $NUE Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.4% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 32,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.5% in the second quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 42,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,549,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.2% in the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 11,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 14.9% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter valued at $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $136.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.25. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. The firm has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,309 shares of company stock valued at $4,553,771. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.